


The Great Outdoors

by agoodwoman



Series: Fac Fortia et Patere [2]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Bigfoot - Freeform, Case Fic, F/M, MSR, Orison, RST, Resolved Sexual Tension, case file fic, post-orison, season 7, season of secret sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-10
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2018-08-30 04:06:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 116,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8517883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agoodwoman/pseuds/agoodwoman
Summary: Most of these chapters are explicit.Picking up a few weeks after Planes Trains and Automobiles left off, Mulder and Scully have met the luckiest man alive and faced off with Pfaster again. This story begins after Mulder and Scully decide to pack a bag and get out of her apartment.  Except they don't spend another weekend in bed together - they deal with the demons from Pfaster and the wake of his turmoil in their lives. They also, of course, get sent on another assignment to The Great Outdoors.





	1. After Pfaster

Regulations and standard procedure for law enforcement state that when a crime occurs in a residence, "the government will provide temporary housing” for any person displaced by crime scene cleanup. Usually, that meant a small suite at a Motel Six complete with a kitchenette. A.D. Skinner called to inform Mulder that he had booked Scully a room at the Fairfield Inn, downtown.

The Illinois Department of Corrections and the U.S. Marshals would be picking up the bill for the expense. They were responsible for containing Donnie Pfaster and their failure to do so ultimately lead to Dana Scully being kidnapped and bound by him for a second time. Instead of a run-down house once belonging to Pfaster’s mother, it was in her own home.

Mulder leaned past Scully and took her seatbelt in his fingers to pull it across her blanket. “Safety first.”

Scully’s eyes met his but she didn’t understand the comment. “What?”

Mulder shook his head at her and she looked toward the windshield wipers as they bumped along the glass. There was a smell of burnt gunpowder lingering in her nose and the metallic taste of blood in her mouth.

The small Go-bag at her feet bumped the thick socks she wore. It occurred to her that she didn’t have shoes on or with her but she didn’t care.

The crime scene unit team took her pajamas, her slippers and the underwear she had on when this whole mess began. At her insistence, there was no sexual assault, however she was unable to sidestep the intrusive rape kit. Surprisingly, it wouldn’t have been the first one done on Special Agent Dana Scully.

After their encounter with the Kindred, Duane Barry, the FoxFire chicken eating people of Dudley, Arkansas, Virgil Incanto, Donnie Pfaster, Gerald Schnauz, and Eddie Van Blundht. Each time was as humiliating as the first. She could still remember the scratchy gowns against her skin and the white paper under her backside as she looked to the wall for a semblance of grace.

Mulder had tried to stop this one but she allowed it to be completed by a female doctor with him standing guard on the other side of the curtain. She could almost picture the look on his face as he stood under the fluorescent lights and nurses attempted to approach with supplies to stitch up Scully’s lip.

“It came back negative,” she said quietly as they pulled up to the valet tent.  
  
The valet knocked on the window at Mulder’s side and he waved his hand at the young man in the burgundy coat to give them a minute.

“What?”

“The rape kit,” she whispered. “It came back negative.”

Mulder’s face set to panic. “Were you worried it might be positive?”

“He knocked me out after he jumped out at me from my closet. When I came to, I was still dressed in my pyjamas but I was sore around my groin,” she replied and she looked down to where her hands sat in her lap. “I thought maybe…”

“But he didn’t?” Mulder asked nervously.

“No, the bruising was from where he grabbed me and held me down as he restrained me,” she replied. “The doctor said the indication of sexual activity was recent but not within the last twelve hours.”

“Did you tell her… About us?” Mulder asked delicately.

“I said I had a boyfriend who I had consensual intercourse with Sunday night,” she replied. “That will be in the report submitted to Skinner.”

Mulder sighed. “I don’t care if you named me Scully. I’m relieved as all fuck that you’re okay.”

“We’re at the hotel,” she said quietly in an attempt to push him past the topic. “Mulder.”

“That’s the first time you said my name since we left your apartment,” he noted as he undid his seatbelt.

He exited the car and handed his keys to the valet waiting on the curb. Mulder was at her door quickly and helped her out of the car. Before he took her elbow in his hand, he picked up her overnight bag and escorted her into the hotel where an agent was waiting with a room key for them.

Mulder took the key and slipped it into his pocket however she missed the conversation where it was told where they were going. No one questioned why Mulder was there, but Scully caught the looks on the faces of the employees as they moved through the lobby toward the elevators. She looked like a battered woman under police protection and not a capable FBI agent who managed to escape a death fetishist before he took her hair and fingernails for his sadistic masturbatory needs.

In the elevator, Scully felt the bile in the back of her throat and she willed herself to keep it inside until they were safely in her hotel room. The blanket around her shoulders fell slightly and she struggled to adjust it. Her fingers felt numb and she was shivering. The shock was still fresh in her mind except she wasn’t feeling any grief to taking a life. If it was anyone else, she might worry about the moral ramifications. However, in the wake of Donnie Pfaster’s life, there would be fewer women who died because of what she did.

The white knit blanket fell to the floor and Mulder silently picked it up and laid it gingerly across her shoulders. She saw in his eyes that he could see some of the injuries Pfaster inflicted.

“Is it bad?” she asked.

Mulder clenched his jaw and shook his head. It was a tell of his that he was lying. “No.”

Scully nodded. The elevator door dinged to their arrival and she followed him down the hall. He was being careful not to touch her too much but part of her was craving his hands to soothe and hold her. It was a complicated feeling.

Mulder stopped at the end of the hall and set her bag down as he fished the room key out of his pocket. “Here we go.”

She followed him inside the modest room that smelled like Lemon Pledge and Windex. The bile rose again in her throat and she dropped her blanket to run into the bathroom off the front of the room.

The sound of the toilet seat hitting the tank echoed in the bathroom as the contents of her stomach forced themselves out of her mouth. Mulder knelt at her side with a wet washcloth as she finished spitting into the toilet.

She made a disgusted noise as she wiped her mouth and her body shook as she attempted to stand up.

“That’s a side effect of shock, right?” he asked as his hand rubbed up and down her back.

His touch was soothing but she had a cut on her back from where she was slammed into the mirror.

“Mulder,” she started and he retracted his hand from the scrubs they gave her at the hospital. “It’s not that I don’t want… Pfaster threw me against the mirror on the dresser.”

His fingers quickly went to the hem of her green hospital issue shirt. From their place on the floor, she nodded slowly and he pulled the garment over her head. She didn’t have a bra on and the instinct to cover herself quelled. She was safe there with him.

“No stitches,” he noted. “Just some butterfly bandages.”

Scully looked over her shoulder and watched his jaw clench again. His eyes were taking in every abrasion and bruise. She nodded at his assessment.

“Is it that bad?” she asked.

“No,” he replied and she half believed him. “I was just thinking if you hadn’t pulled the trigger on Pfaster, I would walk down to whatever holding cell he was in and do it myself.”

Scully’s chin wavered as the emotion began to hit her and she wiped a tear from her cheek. He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss next to the top of where she had been hurt.

“You’re sweet,” she told him as she sat up straight. His cheeks were pink from the compliment and she took his hand in hers. “I’m topless and you’re maintaining great eye contact. You’re sweet.”

“I’m a man,” he insisted. “But I’m not an idiot.”

“You’ve seen them before,” she reminded him as he helped her stand up.

Mulder put his hands in his pockets and kept his eyes on her face. “I’ve done more than see them and I might be banking on seeing them again-”

He stopped himself and shook his head.

“What?”

“I shouldn’t make that kind of comment at a time like this,” he admonished himself.

Scully almost smiled. “It’s all right.”

“What do you need?” he asked as he looked down at his hands.

“A shower and a toothbrush,” she replied. “I don’t need space.”

Mulder nodded and laid the green shirt on the counter. “I’ll be right outside.”

He left her to stand in the bathroom alone and returned shortly with her toiletry bag. The water scalded her skin as it rained down into the glass shower stall. She was merely going through the motions as she washed the blood from her hair and used the soap across her skin.

When she turned the shower off, she stood in front of the mirror and dabbed the water from her skin. The bruises across her pelvis, on her ribs and down her legs were bright red. A handprint across her throat was forming of deeper red and purple. She turned around to try to see the cuts along her back. They had centred around her thoracic curve with small splinters down toward the ouroboros on the right of her lower back.

She would need Mulder to dry the bandages and would be sleeping on her side for the next few days until she healed. At that moment, she felt control but as quickly as she felt a calming take over her heart, she felt herself begin to panic.

A constricting feeling hit her chest and she clutched the towel to her as she sat down on the edge of the toilet. She must have been making more noise than she realized because the bathroom door burst open with a worried Mulder at the doorway.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he knelt in front of her.

She shook her head as she tried to identify what was happening. Her skin felt cold but there was a sweat on her upper lip. She felt weak, a numbness in her fingers and constricting in her chest. This was a panic attack.

What she needed to do was to recognize her symptoms for what they were. Check. Control her breathing. Check. Recognizing the symptoms could help them dissipate if she was lucky. She clutched onto Mulder’s fingers as she took a long breath and let it out slowly.

“Panic?” he asked and she nodded. “Do you have Xanax or Valium?”

Scully was holding his hand as tightly as she could while she let out another long breath. “Yes.”

She needed to focus on what was happening to her. She couldn’t run away from the situation. Donnie Pfaster had died in her apartment four hours ago, she survived another attack and Mulder was here. This was her reality at the moment.

“Where is it?” he asked desperately.

Another long breath left her and she pointed a shaking finger at the toiletry bag by the sink. Mulder retrieved an orange bottle of pills and opened the child-safety lid for her. He dumped a number into his palm and held it out to her. She grabbed a small blue pill with a number ten on it and stared at the medication.

“Water?” he offered and got off the floor to get the complimentary bottle from the counter.

The five dollar tag floated to the floor next to Scully’s foot. Neither the FBI nor the U.S. Marshals would argue about incidentals charged to the room after this.

He cracked the lid on the bottle and held it to her. “Scully…”

She looked up to him and put the pill between her teeth before taking a swig of the lukewarm water. She saw his jaw clench and the panic on his face return but she couldn’t think about soothing his fears right now.

With a shaking hand, she reached for Mulder’s wrist and looked at his watch.

“What?” he asked.

“Tracking my time of dosage and heart rate,” she explained. She inhaled slowly and exhaled a wavering breath. “Diazepam can be effective within sixty minutes, however, I’m taking it on an empty stomach.”

“Can I get you something?” he offered.

Scully watched the second hand tick quickly on his Omega watch face and she nodded. “I need food.”

Mulder thought for a moment and got off the floor to retrieve the room service menu on the desk in the bedroom. When he returned, he was studying the options. “Will you eat anything I order?”

“I just want some soup,” she replied. “Crackers or toast, Mulder.”

He picked up the phone off the bathroom wall and dialled the room service line. “Hello. This is Agent Mulder in room 1703. We need some-”

Scully could hear a voice on the other end but not make out what they were saying. The sound of her blood rushing through her ears became overwhelming and she took another sip of her water.

“Look, I need you to make this happen. I need a bowl of soup and some dry toast sent up here,” he requested in a tone he usually reserved for Sheriffs that tried to interfere with a case. “Crackers.”

Mulder tucked the phone between his ear and shoulder and used his free hand to wipe across his mouth. Another stress tell.

“Put your manager on the phone if it’s going to be an issue or I’ll go out, get a hot plate and fix this up myself-” he snapped. “That’s what I thought. Thank you.”

He hung the phone up gently on the wall and walked on his knees to Scully where she sat. “Do you want to try to get up?”

She nodded. The bathroom floor felt cold under her feet and she wanted to get dressed.

Mulder wrapped her bathrobe around her shoulders. The cotton felt comforting on her skin that was itching with every second that ticked by on his pearl-faced watch.

“Where did you get this?” she asked as he helped her up.

Mulder’s hands gingerly put each arm into the robe and he tied the sash around her waist. “I brought it in earlier.”

Scully nodded and accepted his answer because she just now realized he wasn’t in a suit and tie. “You’re in jeans.”

He looked down at his clothing then back up to her. The worry in his eyes wasn’t lost on her. “Yes.”

“I’m…” The thought left her brain as quickly as it entered and she walked past Mulder to lay on the bed. “I just need to lie down.”

It wasn’t a secret that Mulder was somewhat useless when it came to caretaking and nurturing. Most people learned what was demonstrated to them in life and the Mulder family left a lot to be desired. When she was sick with her cancer and the chemotherapy kept her at home, he would show up with soup and buttery biscuits from a deli she liked, tried not to make a face when she ran to the bathroom to heave it up and offered to order a pizza to lighten the mood. He silently cleaned off the car mats while she slept in the back seat after she was sick over the front seat. He offered ginger ale but they knew a root-based soft drink wouldn’t cure the cancer invading her. He told her a month into her diagnosis he felt frustrated that his only instinct was to touch her but not knowing if it was okay. She assured him it was and they held hands quietly on her couch while Shawshank Redemption played on.

Scully could remember those seeds of friendship planting inside her and she had wished during her cancer she would have enough life in her to let them grow. Before that time, she considered him her friend but as she felt her life almost leave her body, she knew deep inside of her that he was the best one she had ever had.

She looked over her shoulder to see him standing there and looking helpless. “Mulder.”

“You need to eat. When did you eat last?”

“I had that thing from the vending machine,” she murmured.

“That thing was a 150 calorie-wise crap thing I wish you would not eat,” he admonished and knelt by the bed. “Scully, don’t fall asleep until your soup gets here, please.”

“Is my forehead warm?” she asked him as she rolled over. She took his hand to press the back of it to her skin. He felt warm to the touch. “No.”

Mulder took her hand and kissed her wrist. “What am I supposed to do, Scully? You need to walk me through this.”

She pulled on his shirt and he climbed on the bed over her. She scooted closer to his chest and she pulled his top arm over her side. “Just this, Mulder.”

“I’m officially worried about you,” he said as he squeezed her arm and hooked his leg over her hip.

“You can note it in your report,” she whispered as she felt sleep begin to take over.

“What about your soup?” he asked quietly.

“Wake me up when it gets here,” she slurred and she felt her mind drift off into a dream state.

  
***

 

The face of the devil was above her and his hands were tightening their grip around her throat. She was calling out to Mulder to save her and screaming for air. She felt tangled under the constrictions of this nightmare and she needed to escape.

“Mulder!” she cried out. “I need your help!”

It was Donnie Pfaster above her. It was Duane Barry closing the trunk on her to take her to Skyland Mountain. It was Gerry Schnauz threatening her with twilight sleep. She saw the face of Linda Bowman threatening to take Mulder next. A man in a surgical mask with a cigarette hanging between his fingers. Philip Padgett was holding his manuscript in one hand and his heart in the other while Ken Naciamento leered on, lying in wait to get at her next.

“Mulder!”

She heard him calling her name but he was too far away and there were too many people piling on top of her.

She felt her body shake and she opened her eyes to see his furrowed brow. He was kneeling over her and his arms were holding her biceps firmly. “Scully!”

“Get off!” she cried helplessly as she pushed on his chest and he scrambled off her obligingly. She shook her head repeatedly and covered her face. “No.”

“Scully I’m sorry! You were screaming-”

“No, it wasn’t you. It was Pfaster, it was Schnauz, it was the smoking man,” she interrupted and she felt the tears begin to well in her eyes. Scully wiped at her eyes and shook her head. “It’s been too many monsters masked as men.”

She pushed her palms into the mattress to sit up and she saw his hand reach out then retract.

“I’m sorry,” she told him and pulled him towards her. “It wasn’t you I saw. I saw them.”

Mulder moved closer to her and his chin began to waver. “Tell me what you saw, Scully. Who did you see?”

“Donnie Pfaster turned into a demon and was trying to strangle me. I saw Duane Barry closing the trunk with a gag around my mouth…” her voice trailed off and she rubbed her forehead. “Linda Bowman was there. She wanted to take you away from me.”

“She couldn’t do that,” he assured her. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Oh, Mulder!” she cried and climbed onto his lap.

The sobs echoed out of her as she broke down completely at every assault that had been inflicted over the last seven years. It was too much for one person to take. It was too hard to keep those monsters at bay in her dreams after one of them invaded her space and tried to take her again.

Mulder soothed her as he rocked her back and forth and he was careful to mind her back with his hands. She could hear him crying too and she loved him for feeling all of this with her. He wouldn’t hold it against her in the morning. He wouldn’t look at her as any less of an agent or step back as a lover.

“I’m right here,” he assured her.

He repeated the words over and over again as she broke down.

This was the side of Dana Scully no one ever saw. This was the side that prayed in silence and asked big questions in a confessional booth. This woman clutched to Mulder now was the one who felt her heart get ripped from her chest by an idea in a story. She had stayed strong until Mulder found her on his dusty apartment floor and she lost all resolve. Donnie Pfaster seemed to have found a way to tap into her vulnerabilities when he broke into her apartment. She hated him more for that.

Once the sobs subsided into hiccups, she tried to regain her composure. Mulder took deep breaths with her and once again, they found there was more strength in each other they could rely on.

“Mulder…” she started.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as though the tone was enough to set off alarms in his brain. Sometimes it was a benefit when someone understood you so well they could hear the slightest inflection in hearing their name.

“This is quite the hiccup,” she noted as she wiped at her cheeks.

She was referring to a conversation they had on Kent Island a few weeks ago. After seven years of want and longing, a kiss on New Year’s Eve and courage that led to a week of discovery as they tried to get home from an assignment. Despite the frustrations with a plane delay, an overnight train ride and a slightly awkward car ride with Maggie Scully, they made it back to D.C. without changing their minds about moving forward. What solidified them moving forward was an extended weekend at a rental cottage in Maryland where they discovered their chemistry as partners continued into the bedroom. If she was remembered correctly it continued in the kitchen, the bathroom, the living room and once in their basement office.

Mulder grabbed the tissue box from the bedside table and she took one before he pulled one for himself. “Hiccups subside, Scully. Unless you’re Charles Osborne.”

Scully wiped at her nose and tucked the tissue into a pocket of her housecoat. “Who is that?”

“Osborne was from Anthon, Iowa. He was born in 1894 and developed a case of the hiccups when trying to weigh a hog in 1922. He had them for sixty-eight years,” he explained.

“How did they stop?” she asked.

“He died,” he said quietly.

Scully took another tissue and blew her nose. “Your story isn’t comforting but I appreciate the anecdote regardless, Mulder.”

“My point being, Scully, that aside from Osborne, hiccups subside,” he said soothingly. “Your distraught state is endearing.”

She chuffed in laughter and gave him a skeptical look. “This is endearing to you?”

He kissed her cheek and wiped a tear away with one finger. “It would worry me if you had any less a response to what Donnie Pfaster put you through. Who knows who else he could have hurt after he finished with you. You’re a hero.”

“I killed him,” she stated and let out another long wavering breath. “I took his life and didn’t hesitate.”

“Are you angry or sad about your reaction to facing certain death, Scully?” he asked and she shook her head. “He might have killed me next. Then moved on to the next victim to satisfy his death fetishist fantasies. The world is a slightly better place.”

“Slightly,” she repeated and she picked up Mulder’s wrist to look at the time. “My Diazepam should be working by now.”

He pointed over his shoulder toward the small table at the window. “Your soup is over there. Should still be warm.”

She nodded and took another long breath. “Thank you.”

“I’m here for whatever you need, Dana,” he replied.

The practice of her first name caused her eyes to search for his. He must have been scared too. His first name was on the tip of her tongue but she stopped herself.

Carefully, she moved off Mulder’s lap and he guided her toward the table. With a flourish, he placed a cloth napkin across her lap and lifted the warming lid off her plate.

Scully smiled a little at his effort and picked up her spoon. “Thank you.”  
  
Mulder sat across from her and opened a pack of her crackers. He stole a corner of the broken one before placing the rest on her tray. “Do you want me to stay here?”

Scully looked down at the mushroom soup in her bowl and stirred it slowly. She nodded before looking up at him. “Do you mind?”

Mulder shook his head. “Not in the least. I’ll have to run down to my car to get my Go-bag from the trunk. Do you want me to turn on the tv to something like C-SPAN so you can hear men drone on and not listen to a word you say? It will be like I never left.”

She smiled at him as he found the remote and changed the channel for her. “I would appreciate that, thank you.”

Mulder tossed the remote onto the bed and pushed his lower lip out. “You were supposed to assure me I’m nothing like a politician.”

She tilted her head to the side. “You’ll survive.”

“I’ll be right back,” he said and kissed her forehead before making his exit.

Scully ate her soup and crackers with the noise of the television soothing the frayed nerves she was fighting.

In the next two days, she would need to attend a mandatory psychological evaluation. A big part of her needed the familiarity of work to remind her of a purpose she was struggling to hold onto. Monsters like Pfaster were too frequent these days and she liked knowing she was in a job that could stop them.

Another bite of her food went down and she took another calming breath. Surviving Donnie Pfaster would not be the event in her life that made her break.

***

Mornings for Scully could be difficult if she had little sleep. Her cognizant state came at six a.m. with a headache from dehydration and the sound of Mulder snoring softly next to her. She had her hand on his chest and he was holding it tightly as he slept next to her.

She tried to retract her hand from his without waking him but he stirred as she moved.

“Sorry,” she whispered as she rolled over to sit up.

He sat up too and placed a hand gently on her back where he knew he could touch her. “It’s okay. I can put on some bad hotel coffee.”

She nodded and tucked her hair behind her ears. When she turned back to look at his rumpled morning state, she smiled. “No nightmares.”

Mulder nodded. “I noticed.”

She threw back the covers off her legs and left the bed to use the bathroom. After she flushed the toilet, she ran the water to wash her hands and brush her teeth. She could hear Mulder shuffling around outside the door and she opened it to see him standing with the coffee pot.

“They have Nabob coffee here,” he said as though that was a good thing.

Scully rinsed out her toothbrush and kissed his bicep. “You’re so easy to please, Mulder.”

He smiled down at her and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. This side of their normalcy was comforting to her. The stolen kisses in the morning, a touch on her leg under the table as they ate lunch on a case, the hurried frenzy of sexual release in Chicago while they investigated the impervious luck of Henry Weems were all a new normal for them she longed to return to. His kid gloves were a comfort but she needed to compartmentalize this experience and find a rational balance.

Scully took the pot from Mulder. “I’ll make it.”

He was already spreading toothpaste along the white bristles of his own brush. “If it’s really terrible, I can make a coffee run for you.”

As the coffee brewed, she made her way to the door of the hotel room to fetch the complimentary paper. Just as she stood up with the paper in hand, a family of four walked past her. The little girl holding her mother’s hand was curious about Scully’s appearance and the parents gave her uncomfortable glances.

“Mommy, look!” the little girl extended her arm to point to Scully. “She has an owie on her face.”

“Amy, that’s not polite,” the mother scolded quietly and pushed the little girl’s arm down. The woman made uncomfortable eye contact with her and took in her appearance. “Sorry.”

Scully shook her head at the woman. “It’s all right.”

The father had continued down the hall with their son on his hip and turned back to his wife. “Honey?”

“I hope you leave the bastard,” the woman said quietly to Scully.

“It wasn’t someone… The man who did this got his,” she replied and retreated back into her room.

Mulder was sitting on the bed looking over the room service breakfast options with a coffee in hand. “They have bagels with real cream cheese unless you want to go down to the dining room.”

“I was ready to but I fear my appearance is promoting domestic abuse,” Scully replied. She found the mug Mulder prepared for her next to the coffee maker and she sat on her side of the bed with the paper. “Maybe we should order in.”

“You look like you gave it as good as you got it,” he said as he studied her face. His phone rang and he set his mug on the bedside table to retrieve his mobile from his jacket pocket. “Mulder.”

Scully could hear Skinner’s voice through the line but not anything he was saying.

“Sir, she’s right here -” he started and Scully could hear Skinner cutting Mulder off with an order. “Okay. I’ll bring her in at one. Thank you.”

He carried his phone back toward the bed and gave her an apologetic frown. “The U.S. Marshals want to see both of us in Skinner’s office for a joint meeting.”

“You didn’t get a suit for me when we were leaving my apartment did you?” she asked.

Mulder shook his head. “Crime scene cleanup would have arrived at seven a.m. and I don’t know if they’ll let us in to get some of your stuff.”

She opened the paper across the bedspread and sighed. “I can’t show up for a meeting with Skinner in jeans and my Georgetown sweatshirt. I don’t even have shoes.”

“I guess we’ll have to go shopping,” he replied and picked up the phone. “Bagel?”

“And fruit,” she added.

It was only eight a.m. yet she wanted to wrap herself in a blanket and hide in that room for the rest of the day. The dutiful side of her knew it wasn’t an option and she steadied herself to face her boss.

Mulder reached out to her hand as he waited for Room Service to answer. He kept his eyes on the menu and gave her fingers a squeeze of reassurance.

He really was her constant.

  
***

  
The waiting area outside the Assistant Director’s office offered one three-person couch and two armchairs. Skinner’s assistant typed away at her computer while occasionally pausing to look over at Scully. It wasn’t sly or secretive in any way. With each pause, Arlene would clear her throat and shift in her seat.

Once or twice when she was working in the bullpen under Kersh, Scully had been mistaken for Arlene by other agents and never in a way that didn’t end with an uncomfortable conversation.

“Hey doll, send this up to your boss for me would you?” A sly voice would say as a hand reached for her waist.

A quick apology would follow with a retracted hand. Scully would take the file anyway since it meant getting out of the sterile environment that Kersh maintained for the agents in the pool.

If the situation was reversed, it would be hard for Scully to see a woman with her likeness as bruised and beaten as she was.

“It will just be another few minutes,” Arlene told them.

Scully looked at her watch and noted they had been stalled for fifteen minutes. “I’m going to the ladies room.”

Fifteen feet from Skinner’s outer office was the entrance to the ladies room and the longest walk Scully had experienced. The judgmental looks from other agents while avoiding eye contact was too much.

When she turned the corner into the washroom where a female agent was washing her hands, she felt disappointed she didn’t have the space to herself. Scully didn’t recognize this woman but social norms didn’t stop this woman from openly gawking at her.

“Oh my god,” the woman said.

She felt her cheeks flush and she shifted on her feet at the comment.

Mulder entered the bathroom behind her. “Scully.”

“This is the ladies room,” the female agent informed Mulder as though his intelligence was closely tied to his hearing.

“Great, do you mind?” Mulder snapped.

The woman brushed by them while muttering something about unprofessional behaviour.

The ringing in Scully’s ears was overwhelming her and she walked toward the sink to run the tap. She took a piece of paper towel and ran it under the water to moisten it before dabbing it across her forehead carefully. The cut on her lip, the swelling by her right eye and the bruise on her left cheek weren’t the worst she’d looked when coming in the day after an encounter with a monster or man, but not the best.

“Scully,” Mulder repeated.

She turned the tap off and looked at him as though she suddenly realized he had broken a minor protocol with the FBI by being in there. “What are you doing in here, Mulder?”

“Skinner is ready for us,” he told her as he approached. “Come on.”

“People are going to get an idea about you and I being in here together,” she pointed out.

Mulder took her hand in his. “At this point, it could only help my reputation.”

“What about mine?” she asked him and was mostly joking.

He shrugged. “I’m sure they’ll think you’re just using me for my body.”

She nodded. He did have a good one and she told him so. “I don’t know why but I’m not feeling up to this.”

“They’re probably going to thank you,” he replied. Mulder reached his hand out and tucked her hair behind her ear. His other hand was rubbing her upper arm softly. “Worst case scenario, we tell them to stick it where the sun don’t shine and head off someplace where bathing suit attire would be preferable.”

She nodded. The trip to Kent Island had been good for them as a couple but also beneficial for her mental health. They rarely took time off unless it was for hospital recovery. Once, she tried to get away to Maine but Mulder was so dumbstruck at the idea she would actually enjoy the salty New England air, he practically willed a cursed doll into her orbit. Not that she would tell him any of those things.

She looked up at him as he was smiling tenderly at her and her fingers wrapped around his tie. He took the hint and leaned down closer to her so she could taste his lips. His familiar scent of cologne, toothpaste, coffee and salty seeds were exactly what she needed to ground her. The kiss was chaste but full of the earnest hope when she was feeling better, she could be with him again.

When their mouths parted, Mulder kissed her on the cheek and shook his head. “I thought we said not at work.”

“I’m not pulling you into a stall, Mulder,” she reminded him.

“Not yet,” he teased and she rolled her eyes. Mulder gave her another soft kiss on her lips. “Better?”

“Better,” she assured him. “Let’s go.”

  
***

A.D. Skinner sat the head of the conference table in his office with Mulder and Scully to his right. The U.S. Marshal assigned to catch Donnie Pfaster, Rick Daddo, was sitting with his colleagues to Skinner’s left as they reviewed Pfaster’s full file. Yellow legal pads were in front of everyone at the table. Arlene had brought in water and coffee for the agents. If this hadn’t been such a tense moment, it might seem like any other meeting.

“I don’t understand why his history with Agent Scully wasn’t disclosed to us immediately,” Daddo replied as he turned the page on the X-File.

“It’s my personal file,” Scully answered quickly.

A.D. Skinner held up his hands. “His obsessive behaviour toward Agent Scully wasn’t the reason she and Agent Mulder were assigned to assist you with his prison break. She was there as a liaison with insights into the paranormal.”

“Donnie Pfaster was obsessed with your agent,” another Marshal spoke up from his place at the end of the table. “She should have been under protective custody.”

“You could have done your job and caught him at the bus stop when he was thirty feet away from you,” Mulder pointed out.

“Now you wait just a damned minute!” Daddo barked and slammed his fists on the table. “We didn’t know what happened there.”

“We did,” Mulder said.

“Is that why we’re here?” Scully asked. “Are we being blamed?”

“Not in the slightest,” Skinner assured her and he cleared his throat. “The FBI and U.S. Marshals need a statement that coincided.”

“And interviewing Agent Scully and I together?” Mulder asked Daddo.

“We can send Agent Scully into the hallway if you need,” Daddo offered.

“How about everyone settles down?” Skinner interrupted and took a sip of his coffee. “Agent Mulder, you’re here to interview Agent Scully.”

Mulder took the pen from inside his suit pocket and clicked the retractable button mechanism. “Okay, let’s get started then.”

Scully folded her arms across her torso dressed in the black pinstriped suit they purchased at Ann Taylor on their way into the J. Edgar Hoover building. Since the crime scene cleanup crew would not allow Mulder and Scully to enter her apartment while they were steaming the blood out of the floorboards, Mulder assured her she would be dressed properly for their meeting. It bothered her that she had only thought to pack casual clothing when they left her apartment last night but she didn’t want to face her boss or the Marshals looking like a victim.

“Agent Scully, can you tell us what happened when you arrived home last night?” Daddo asked and poised his pen ready to take notes.

Scully let out a breath and squared her shoulders. “Thursday morning, we discovered the body of Reverend Orison. Our involvement in the investigation was related to his ability to affect the vision of those around him and allow a man to escape prison without any witnesses. The U.S. Marshals thanked us for our help and we told them we would forward our report when we returned to Washington. Agent Mulder and I had caught the morning flight from Marion. We completed some paperwork at the office and I went home. At 5:45 p.m., I entered through my front door. It was locked. I left my keys on the desk. I then entered my bedroom.”

One of the Marshals pulled out a diagram of Scully’s apartment. “Here?”

Scully looked over to the diagram where he was pointing. “Yes.”

“Please continue,” Daddo requested as his pen moved across the page.

“I hung my jacket on the stand in my bedroom. I put my gun on my dresser and undressed into my nightclothes,” she stated.

“Where did you undress?” Daddo asked.

“In my bedroom. I put my undergarments in my laundry in the bathroom,” she answered.

“When did you encounter Mr. Pfaster?” the Marshal at the end of the table asked.

Scully looked down toward him and saw his badge read “G Evans”. His square set jaw and beady eyes made her annoyed as much as the questions but she didn’t have the luxury of losing her cool right now.

“I had buttoned my night shirt. I was taking my suit to be hung in my closet,” she told Evans. “I saw the clock on my nightstand read 6:66 and the lights in my apartment went out. Normally I don’t rely on instinct, I prefer fact and science but I felt something was wrong. I noticed my closet door wasn’t closed all the way.”

“Why is that significant?” Daddo asked.

“I’m very meticulous when it comes to certain things in my home,” Scully explained. She sighed and her tongue darted to moisten her bottom lip before she continued. “I wouldn’t have left the closet door ajar. When I approached the door, Pfaster swung it open to hit me in the face.”

Mulder caught her eye as she was making her statement and gave her a slight nod. She took another steadying breath. Recounting the attack would be harder. There would be elements she would need to go over. Things Pfaster said she would have to retell and it would be like living through it all over again. If she broke down in that office, the Marshals could make an argument as to why female agents in the field couldn’t handle themselves. The FBI could ask her to take more defensive training. If she didn’t react at all, she might be put under an evaluation or they might think she was happy to take Pfaster’s life.

Scully pointed to the bruise along her hairline. “The door hit me here. I fell to the ground and Pfaster shoved me against the wall. I fell again. His arms went to my throat and choked me.”

Scully could see their eyes look down to the hand marks across her neck. She wasn’t wearing a turtleneck today to hide what had happened to her.

“I pushed on his chest but he still strangled me. I was able to get my hands on his face so my thumb nails could scrape at his eyes. I managed to draw blood and I was able to punch him with my right fist before I ran for my gun. When I grabbed it off my dresser, he was behind me. He threw me into the mirror above the dresser,” she explained. Scully paused for a moment to take a sip of water and she closed her eyes momentarily. When she opened them she thought back to how it felt to be slammed against the mirror repeatedly.

“Are you all right Agent Scully?” Skinner asked.

“She seems to be doing fine,” G Evans commented.

Mulder set his pen down on his note pad and began to stand up.

“Sit down, Agent,” Skinner ordered.

Mulder’s clenched jaw was the only indicator to Daddo and his team that Evans crossed the line. Mulder sat down at the table quietly but kept his eyes on the offending Marshal.

“Sir,” Scully spoke up as she looked at the Marshals across from her. “I have experienced hand-to-hand combat in situations with suspects previous to Donnie Pfaster. If I am sounding at all detached from this experience, I can assure you it is a self-preservation technique and not because facing a man who embodies the Devil didn’t affect me. It affected me greatly. I worried for my life.”

“Agent Scully-” Daddo began.

“I thought I would never see my loved ones again,” she continued and struggled to keep her tone even. She had thought about her mother, her brothers and Mulder as he had her in the closet. She had to push those thoughts aside to remain calm and try to escape. “I was afraid I would end up in a case report because somehow he slipped through cracks and into my home. But he was not the first man we’ve come across in our line of work who has broken into my home or violated some part of me. And I still show up to work every day ready to bring more of them to justice.”

Daddo and Evans shifted in their seats.

“I apologize,” Evans said uncomfortably. “Please… Continue.”

“He threw me against the mirror repeatedly until the gun fell out of my hand.” Scully recounted and she took another steadying breath. “I kicked him in the groin area. While he was down, I found a lamp and hit him over the head with it. He fell toward my bed and other dresser. I kicked him and punched him in the stomach and chest. He grabbed for me again. I knocked him onto the ground and threw my book case on top of him.”

Mulder rubbed his hand along his thigh and she watched his jaw clench. He took a sip of his water and wrote four words down on his notepad. ‘Don’t mess with Scully.’

“I ran down the hallway to my kitchen and dialled 911. Pfaster grabbed me from behind and threw me to the floor,” Scully stated.

“Did he say anything to you at this point?” Skinner asked.

“I told him to go back to hell,” Scully answered. “He was on top of me and my hands were behind my back. He asked me who did my nails. He called me ‘girly girl,’ the same thing he called me when he had me in his mother’s house five years ago.”

Skinner, Daddo and the other Marshals all made another note.

“I asked him to let me go. I told Pfaster the only reason he was alive was because I asked the judge for him to serve a life sentence instead of the death penalty,” she explained.

“I didn’t know you made a plea to the judge,” Mulder spoke up and she caught his eye. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“ _Why_ did you ask for life?” Daddo asked.

“I don’t believe in killing people for their crimes,” Scully replied. “I thought a life behind bars to think about his crimes was a greater punishment than death.”

“What about an eye for an eye?” G Evans asked as he pointed to the cross around her neck. “Doesn’t the Bible cite equal payment for equal crime?”

“What are you getting at?” Mulder interjected.

“You can’t show mercy to the devil and expect him to give you a pass, Agent Scully,” G Evans said and wrote something else down on his legal pad.

“The life sentence included no chance for parole,” Skinner spoke up.

Mulder didn’t know that Skinner had been present when Scully made a plea for the courts to punish Donnie Pfaster with a life behind bars instead of the ease of dying without justice. She couldn’t remember why she didn’t tell her partner at the time. Perhaps she was worried he would think less of her after she broke down in front of him.

“Let’s take ten,” the assistant director suggested and set his glasses down on his legal pad.

The U.S. Marshals agreed and exited Skinner’s office into the hall in search of doughnuts or the soul of another FBI agent to feed off of. When the door closed behind them, Skinner sat down again next to Scully.

“You’re not under scrutiny here,” he assured her.

“ _Really_?” Mulder spoke up.

“The governor of Illinois, the prison and the Marshals are doing their due diligence,” Skinner explained gently. “I’ve already ensured no reprimands will come your way, Agent Scully. Legal or disciplinary.”

“When did you ask the judge to give him life?” Mulder asked.

Scully turned to him and the look in his eyes told her he was scared. It changed her mind on replying to Mulder with a biting remark. “I didn’t want to be the reason he died. For the other women he mutilated, they would have given him a life sentence but my kidnapping was the cherry on top. The ruling judge asked if I wanted him put to death.”

“Oh,” he nodded. She could see him trying to recall what was going on with them that she hadn’t confided that information to him. He reached his hand out to Scully’s in her lap and gave them a squeeze. “You’re doing great by the way.”

She nodded at him. “Thank you.”

Skinner cleared his throat. “I agree with Mulder. You are doing well with this.”

Mulder looked at Skinner without discomfort for the display of affection he was giving toward Scully. “I have to agree that Scully should have been under protective custody.”

“Mulder,” she protested.

He shook his head at her. “Hindsight being 20/20 and all that, they’re right.”

“I received a call from the crime scene cleanup unit and your apartment won’t be ready for re-entry until Monday,” Skinner said. “The U.S. Marshals have agreed to put you up at the Fairfield until then.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“That being said, once Agent Kosseff clears you for duty, I have another case for you,” Skinner stated and he left his place at the table to retrieve a file from his desk.

He handed the file to Mulder who took his hand from Scully’s lap to browse through the pages. Scully’s curious eyes looked over to see where Mulder was reading and he chuckled. “This is too good. And it’s not even my birthday.”

“It might as well be, Mulder,” Skinner grumbled.

“Sir, no,” Scully said as she looked up from the page.

“I’m afraid so,” he said reluctantly.

“Bigfoot?” she repeated.

“Sightings of a tall, simian-looking creature in the woods of Colorado that happen to coincide with the disappearance of six couples on vacation,” Skinner explained. “The crimes have all appeared to have a violent yet paranormal nature.”

“Sounds right up our alley,” Scully murmured as she reached for the file from Mulder and slid it in front of her.

The crime scene photos were macabre, to put it lightly, but definitely animalistic and not appearing to be done by a human. She voiced this concern immediately.

“Well, animal control, park rangers and zoologists would agree with you if it weren’t for the fingerprints left at each scene,” Skinner replied.

Scully turned the next page to see the sample of prints. “ _I see_.”

Mulder sat back in his chair and she could feel him smiling behind her. When she looked over her shoulder, he shrugged his shoulders and held his hands up in defense. “I’m up for it.”

“Don’t say it will be a nice trip to the forest,” she warned him.

“When do you want us out in the great outdoors?” Mulder asked as he looked back over to Skinner.

“Get Scully cleared for duty and get out there,” he ordered.

She sat back in her chair and wondered if the dread she was feeling was directed toward this case or the rest of their meeting with the U.S. Marshals.

 _The great outdoors, my ass_ , she thought.

 

 


	2. A New Assignment

After another thirty-five minutes of a question and answer period with the U.S. Marshals, Scully was thanked for her time and told she was free to go. She immediately walked down the hall to the bathroom and left the contents of her lunch in the toilet. She had Mulder fetch the bathroom kit she kept in the office for her so she could brush her teeth before her meeting with Agent Karen Kosseff.

Sitting across from Karen at this point, she was more bruised than the last time she saw her. She was aware of more loss in herself and she had less wonder at what was out in the world. She felt a fear in herself bubble up as she discussed the drive to get out of the closet and get free from her shackles.

“You sound resolved in your actions before you fired your gun,” Karen noted as she set her pen back down on the arm of her chair. “How are you feeling about what’s happened?”

“I feel…” Scully paused and she took a sip of the water to her right. She wiped at the edges of her mouth and studied the lipstick on the rim of the bottle. “I feel like I probably saved countless women from facing what I went through. I feel like I took a man’s life and the reaction to this has left me with nausea and sudden panic attacks I’m not sure I want to acknowledge.”

Karen tilted her head as she studied Scully sitting across from her on the couch. “I see.”

These informal but recorded conversations always left Scully feeling strange but she knew they were necessary. She also knew that they were helpful. As a whole, she did understand and approve of therapy as a self-check, however, she didn’t always utilize this tool to help her with her own self-care.

Knowing she needed to be cleared for duty, she pushed on.

“I feel frustrated I allowed him to attack me,” she stated and took another sip. “I feel like I should have ran out the front door to the street and not to my phone to call 911. Or when I thought someone was in my house, I should have called 911 then instead of trying to overpower him. With all my training and high marks with hand-to-hand combat at each qualifier every year, I feel angry I was overpowered by him. I’m angry at my size that it was a hindrance.”

Karen’s pen wrote furiously across the page and she looked up at Scully with her sad brown eyes that gave off a tone of understanding instead of judgement. “How did you get out of your hands being tied behind your back?”

She let out a long breath. It was a lot of reiteration today of how she escaped, what she did and how she did it. It was like reliving it over and over again.

“I had to wiggle to get my arms around my-” Scully stopped and nodded once. “Oh.”

“I don’t know if you know this Dana, but to be able to do that, you would need to be a very specific size,” Karen said calmly. “You managed to escape your ties because of your height. I think what you saw as a hindrance was also a help to you last night.”

“I’ve never minded my height as much as I have once I got into the FBI,” she admitted.

“Why?” Karen asked.

“The men usually in law enforcement are tall and have a tendency to talk down to women - especially if they’re short women. I don’t know why that is,” Scully answered. She smiled to herself and shook her head to break the thought forming in her mind. “Mulder is tall but he’s never made me feel less than him. When we disagree, it’s because our ideas are different but he’s not the type to belittle me. Not unless it’s about God.”

“You and your partner have worked through a lot of your trust issues you told me about last year,” Karen noted.

Scully took another long breath. “His former partner was killed after helping me save him-”

The idea sounded so absurd to repeat.

“She helped me locate Mulder after he went missing,” Scully finally said. “I owe her a great debt of gratitude and she was killed.”

“Religion, however, seems to be a sore spot between you two,” Karen noted.

Scully looked out the window of Karen’s office. Outside, the people of Washington were making changes that would affect the real world and she was inside this place trying to get some kind of grip on what happened to her. She was supposed to be a world-changer, a life-saver and a protector to those who didn’t have a voice. Being the victim was frustrating and immobilizing.

“This makes me feel impotent,” she declared. “This process of self-realization through discussion of my feelings. I feel like I’m not in tune enough with them or something. I don’t know.”

“You’re handling this all remarkably well,” Karen assured her and reached across the couch to touch Scully’s knee. The women made eye contact for a beat before Karen retracted her hand. “You’ve faced this man twice and came out almost nearly unscathed.”

Scully nodded and she brushed the backs of her fingers across her lips.

“How has your partner been through all of this?” Karen implored.

Her eyebrows shot up at surprise. “Without question, he’s been a rock and a constant.”

Karen made a note on her pad then set it aside to the table adjacent to the couch. It was a signal to Scully that whatever she asked next wouldn’t be included in her notes.

“Have you two…”

Scully hesitated but her head nodded almost imperceptibly. “I don’t want to lie…”

“I don’t care about regulations with the FBI. I wonder if your eagerness to return to work is out of a loyalty to him or wanting to please him,” Karen replied and Scully heard that more as a comment between friends than as a patient/therapist discussion. “Are you?”

Scully shrugged. “I think… I think I want to work because the familiarity of work has always kept me going over the last seven years. Losing my father, his father, my sister, and my cancer… Then Emily and finding out I can’t have children… He’s been so supportive and understanding. His passion for our work has kept me going.”

“The loss of your daughter was another moment you relied on him,” Karen noted back to sessions they had after Emily died.

Scully nodded. “He was a good friend and so much more a touchstone than I expected.”

Karen nodded and picked up her pen again. “I think you need until Sunday off and you can head out to wherever Walter is sending you.”

Scully looked at Karen plainly. “I never think of him as having a first name.”

Karen smiled. “You forgotten who Dana is too, I think. You might want to re-examine that over the next few weeks before I call you back in here for a check up.”

  
***

The basement office of the J. Edgar Hoover was quiet that Friday afternoon. While Scully met with Karen Kosseff, Mulder had completed his report to submit to Skinner. Scully sat at her computer and typed up her statement slowly and carefully. Each word would be under scrutiny, the higher up the chain her report went, and she didn’t want any misunderstandings about what had happened that night.

While Mulder’s lingering presence was not displayed under false pretenses, he was occupying his time by searching through the filing cabinets for every case file that cited Bigfoot. She could tell he wanted to ask her how the meeting had gone when she walked in the office door. She could see his mind churning out different ways to ask her how it went but instead he scrunched his chin and pursed his bottom lip, indicating he thought better of it.

Scully stopped typing as her partner stood at the cabinet and saved her document. “You can just ask me, Mulder.”

He looked up from the file he had laid across the open drawer and gave her his best surprised face.

“Okay, now I know you’re dying to ask,” she said with a slight laugh.

As much as he drove her crazy with his theories and stubborn attitude, he drove her crazy in other ways too. He was adorable and sweet, attentive and sexy. She liked Mulder for who he was and for some reason, he liked her too. She knew her worth. She was aware of her beauty but she didn’t look at a man like him and think he should be paired with a woman like her. Their minds had too many differing ideas but somehow those conflicts felt like mental foreplay.

If she was contemplating their pasts, neither of them fit into the other’s “type.” His past with other women had been agreeable, tall brunettes and blondes. Scully, by comparison, was a waifish and pale redhead with a painful stubborn streak.

“Mulder?” she prompted.

“Are you cleared for duty?” he asked.

“Sunday,” she answered.

He threw his hands up. “I don’t need to know the rest unless you want to tell me.”

“Are you curious?” she asked.

“I’m always curious, Scully,” he said with a slight grin. “Especially about you.”

He walked toward his desk and she remained at hers where she was watching him but turned her chair slightly. Mulder pulled his desk chair across the office carpet in front of her. He deposited himself close to her on the worn seat. As he leaned forward, she could smell his aftershave and the BBQ sauce he had on his chicken at lunch.

“How did it go?” he asked quietly as he scooted his chair closer to her.

She looked at him. “It went fine-”

“No…” he cut her off.

Scully licked at her lower lip and shook her head. “Okay, it went well as you can expect. I didn’t break down sobbing but I was open with her.”

Mulder’s fingers touched at the material across her knees. He traced his fingers under the seam and hooked two around the back of her knees where she was more than a little ticklish. “Good.”

There was a beat between them and she watched his face as he contemplated pushing further. She confirmed, “It was.”

He used his knees to push her legs apart slightly and he leaned forward. “What else?

He was putting her at easy with his proximity and his touch but her body reminded her that they were at work.

“I told her about us,” she admitted and watched his eyes for panic. “Are you-”

“Good,” he interrupted with a nod. His hands moved to the tops of her thighs and his thumbs massaged the long muscles there that suddenly ached for his mouth. “That’s good, Scully.”

“Mulder,” she said in a warning tone but her cheeks flushed against her own admission. “We’re at work.”

He nodded again and his hands tugged her backside toward the edge of the chair. “I know.”

“Mulder,” she cautioned.

His mouth moved closer to hers and he kissed her softly. Nothing hard and passionate but sweet and innocent. Like a man wanting more but awaiting the green light. Mulder had many green lights over the last few weeks. They might partake in some flirting and touching at the office but they vowed for no repeats of the sex on the office floor. It was dangerous for them to participate in such deeds on FBI property. They could be punished or fired.

His lips brushed against the bruise on her cheek. “I was proud of you today.”

Her heart ached for a man who could turn her on and make her emotions swell at the same time.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

His lips found a spot on her neck and he kissed her softly. “You’re so strong, Scully. Even when you’re breaking down. You’re amazing.”

Her eyes drifted closed and she relaxed into Mulder’s touch. He was being tender as he was showering her with kisses and his fingers were gentle as they grazed at her backside.

“Mulder…” she said again.

He pulled back and she saw the look in his eyes. It was one of desire but she recognized the fear.

“I’m fine,” she assured him.

“You can be not fine, Scully,” he told her. “Your armour can have a crack in it right now if you want. No one would hold that against you.”

  
Her fingers gripped the rolled up cuffs on his grey shirt and she pulled him towards her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and she let him hold her in the office in an obvious display of desperate need on both their parts.

The hands that had moved up her jacket snaked down to her backside. He knelt down and pulled her towards him, causing her thighs to open further and their bodies press together. The heat emanating off of his body was inviting like a blanket she wanted to crawl inside.

His lips pressed into her hairline again and she understood what he was doing. He was kissing everywhere Donnie Pfaster had touched.

A tear fell down her cheek almost immediately and she sniffed.

“Am I hurting you?” he asked as he pulled away slightly but her fingers dug into his sides, keeping him close. “No?”

“Don’t let go,” she said quietly.

Mulder’s arms wrapped tighter around her and she hooked one leg around his waist. The fluorescent light bulb above Mulder’s desk flickered and she could hear the hum of the pipes that ran along the ceiling in the basement.

“Scully,” Mulder whispered almost anxiously. “I need to stand up.”

She loosened her grip on his arms and he retracted himself from their embrace. Mulder ran his hands down his face in a sign of frustration as he took a few steps away from her. When he turned back to her, she saw the slight bulge in his suit pants.

“Oh,” she said in realization.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized and he shook his head as he placed his hands on his hips. “It acts upon its own accord sometimes.”

Scully pushed herself out of her chair and pulled on his wrist. “I’m not offended.”

“You’re emotionally and physically healing right now, Scully,” he said as he pushed his hand into hers to interlace their fingers. “The least my body could do is understand that.”

She smiled sadly at him. “I understand the physical response, Mulder. My body… desires the same-”

“Scully I know, it’s not the time,” he interrupted.

“I was just going to say I don’t blame you,” she replied and he opened his mouth but closed it promptly. “I wish it was the time. I miss you.”

Mulder must have understood the ‘you’ she was referring to. She meant the ‘you’ that whispered her name in her ear as he moved on top of her or slid his tongue between her folds as she cried out to God. That ‘you’ was there but wouldn’t be in her bed in the immediate future.

“I’ll be sure to let you know when I’m ready-” she began and shook her head. “I appreciate everything you’re doing for me.”

Mulder kissed the top of her forehead and squeezed her hand. “Slow and steady, Scully. Just like we’ve always gone.”

  
***

The weather was not inviting for long contemplative walks and sidewalk dining that weekend, which was fine by Scully. The rain poured down Friday evening to Saturday afternoon, which turned Mulder’s suggestion to walk to dinner somewhere in the downtown quarter into Chinese take-out in her hotel room.

They watched part of Dr. Strangelove before Scully changed the channel to Notting Hill. Mulder opened his mouth to say something but took a swig of his beer.

“There’s a lot of drama for this being a rom-com,” Mulder noted as the characters on the screen were going around listing all the horrible things in their lives.

Scully set her glass on the bedside table and moved closer under the crook of Mulder’s arm. She quoted the movie quietly, “I’d like to hold off judgement on a thing like that until all the facts are in.”

“Scully,” he whispered in delight and squeezed her body to his and laughed quietly. He kissed the top of her head and rubbed his hand up her arm. “Crime scene cleanup said we can go in tomorrow.”

Scully nodded. “Okay.”  
  
Mulder set his beer on the bedside table and looked down at her. She could feel his eyes trying to figure out what was going on in her head. It probably wasn’t the most healthy way for her to deal with how she was feeling at the moment but she was trying to avoid the outside world for the time being. She kept her focus on the television in front of her. As his hands soothed her nerves with a gentle touch, her mind was having a harder time escaping the events of the last two days.

“Scully?” he asked.

With all the different ways she said his name, he had a way of asking her a hundred different questions just by saying hers. She didn’t want to answer them. She faced her feelings in Karen Kosseff’s office and recounted what happened to her three times with statements and reports. Now she just wanted to watch two awkward people try to fall in love.

“Dana…” he started.

Her chin wavered and she sighed. “Don’t, Mulder.”

“What’s going on in there?” he asked, inferring to her head. “What are you thinking about?”

“I know that in the next twenty-four hours I need to go into my apartment and try to see that place as my home-” her voice caught in her throat and she took a long breath. “But right now it just feels like another part that was violated somehow. Getting out of town for this case is going to be a nice way to forget that.”

Mulder moved onto his side and propped himself on his elbow. In this position, her head was laying on his forearm and she was forced to look up into his eyes. He could see everything in them and she really didn’t want to be exposed right now.

“Mulder…” she started.

“I didn’t bring it up to start a fight,” he assured her as his top hand moved from his hip to the skin on her belly peeking out between the pyjama top and pants she had on.

His body always felt warm to her, as though based on his muscle mass and size, he would be about five degrees higher than hers. His palm moved across her stomach to rest on her hip as his thumb brushed under the shirt.

She could see in his eyes he was being sincere. His concern was evident as his desire had been earlier in the office. She pulled his face down to hers and kissed him softly. It was easy to fall into the patterns of open mouths, tongues sliding against one another and heated passions driving them to pull at each other’s bodies.

Her desire for him was a physical and mental force that needed to be at the same capacity for her body to find release. At the moment, her mind was too busy trying to escape the atrocities it was imagining her apartment going through over the last twenty-four hours.

His hand slipped up her torso to palm her breast and she felt her nipples tighten at the contact. The apparent hunger for her was pressing into her thigh and she felt his hips thrust once against her as their mouths frenzied their hormones. His thumb and forefinger tweaked at her nipple and she felt herself whimper into his mouth.

Mulder pulled back slightly. “Am I hurting you?”

His pupils were dilated and his lips were wet. His tongue pushed out to clean off the moisture from their kiss and she shook her head before she pulled his face down to kiss her again.

She wanted to use his body as a distraction. She wanted to feel him between her thighs and escape into the carnal yearnings that she had denied her body for so long.

Mulder’s hand moved across her chest to her other breast and she pulled on his hips to settle his body on top of hers. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pushed her pelvis against his cock. The grey sweatpants Mulder wore couldn’t hide the length of his full desire.

She arched her back under his touch and he broke the kiss to look down onto her face. The cut on her lip had broken open again. Mulder pulled his hand from under her shirt to wipe at the blood.

“Scully,” he said in disappointment.

She felt her chin waver and he rolled back onto his side to pull her into an embrace. The part of his body that wanted her was patiently waiting between them as he kissed her forehead softly. The tears began to fall again.

The movie played on beyond the bed as the actors performed the silly notion a bookshop owner in Notting Hill and a Hollywood actress would fall in love. Just as silly as a skeptic and a believer finding a common ground with each other. How absurd their backgrounds and beliefs must be to argue so vehemently at work before they would tear one another’s clothes off in the hallway to her apartment.

She took a long breath as her sobs subsided and looked up to his disheartened face. Mulder grabbed them each a tissue from the bedside table and tossed them next to his beer. She was surprised to see he had shed a few tears also.

“I just wanted a distraction,” she tried to explain.

His lips brushed against the abrasion on her forehead and he reached between them to adjust himself. “I would feel like I was taking advantage-”

“I want to take advantage,” she admitted quietly as her hand pushed his aside and stroked him through his pants.

Mulder’s eyes closed at the sensation but his hand stopped her movement. “Scully.”

She pulled herself from his embrace and straddled his hips as she removed the white cotton shirt from over her head. “I promise I’m fine.”

His jaw went slack and she could see the inner turmoil in his mind.

When she looked down at her creamy skin, she saw the marks and bruises on her body but her chest was flushed from excitement.

Mulder sat up and pulled his shirt off. He pulled her to his body and they kissed fervently. Scully pressed her hips into his and they began a slow grind with their bodies. As he ran his hands up her back to the butterfly bandages, his fingers danced along the small cuts and up to her hairline. It was a welcomed diversion from the things inside of her that wanted to break out. She needed the release from his skilled fingers or to feel his mouth on her.

Except his fingers gripped her harder than she anticipated and suddenly she felt panicked. She pushed on his chest to break the kiss and Mulder immediately took his hands off her body as though she had cried out. Maybe she had.

“I’m sorry!” he apologized quickly and his hands remained up as though he was at gunpoint. “Where… What happened?”

Scully pushed her forehead into his chest as she sat on his lap and sighed heavily. “It… No.”

She could hear his hands gripping the bedspread and she ran her fingers along his chest. They were at a standstill but not because of opposing theories. There was a barrier with her recent trauma and the physical wounds that were slowly going to heal.

As a medical doctor, she knew that the physical side of her wounds could take two to five days for a scab to form and one to two weeks for anything deeper to solidify the tissues to mend. Psychologically, it was a different story and the stakes felt higher now.

Five years ago, it took Dana Scully the federal agent months to feel safe on the road at night after being run off the highway. She felt a chill run down her back when she was complimented on her hair or nails but the desire to be meticulous in her appearance wouldn’t be quelled. When she finally compartmentalized the experience into a box that labelled men like Donnie Pfaster into one that she knew most of the populace didn’t fit into, she felt like she could breathe easier. Not free and clear, but better.

This was a violation of a different kind because he entered into her home and her body needed to regenerate, mend and rebuild. The frustration came with the double task of healing - physically and mentally.

“Mulder,” she started as she sat up.

He put his hands in her hair and pulled her forehead to his. They breathed in unison deeply in an attempt to calm their nerves.

“I’m sorry, Scully,” he whispered. “I shouldn’t have let you out of my sight that day.”

“We might both be dead,” she whispered and hooked her arms under his and pressed her body closer. “If you had been there, he might have killed you first. I’m only alive because it happened to just me, Mulder.”

He rubbed his eyes with his knuckles and looked at her with a worry. Scully wrapped her arms around his neck and he held her body tight to his. They both seemed to forget about their state of undress and prior notions of desire as they held one another in comfort and relief they had survived another run in with Donnie Pfaster.

“I just want to go to sleep,” Scully whispered. “I want to go to sleep and wake up two months from now.”

“Why two months?”

“That’s the amount of time a trauma like this can stick with an individual,” she replied as though the facts in a science textbook would apply to her.

She knew trauma and recovery came in waves. She could expect to have good days and bad days. She might have bad moments that lasted an hour, however knowing that she had the ability to lean on Mulder if she needed to made the potential threat of a breakdown somehow easier. She didn’t have to go through this alone.

“I love you, Mulder,” she said earnestly.

He kissed her forehead softly and rolled them down onto their sides on the bed. As he looked at her face with adoration, she could feel the wheels in his mind churning a quip remark.

His lips turned to a smirk. “Such a sap.”

“Shut up,” she retorted.

Sleep was a blessing that night and nothing of Donnie Pfaster could attempt to invade that as Mulder held her.

  
***

As they walked into Scully’s building, an elderly man approached from down the hall that Mulder had met on occasion or two. When he spotted Scully’s appearance, he hesitated at an awkward distance from them.

“Hello Mr. Ripley,” Scully greeted with a tense smile.

“Ah, Miss Scully,” he stated as though he had a sudden thought of which he needed to discuss with her. “One of those men gave me your key back and said they were all done with whatever mess happened in there.”

Mr. Ripley was a kind man in his late sixties that Scully imagined was probably a very effective teacher before his retirement. He and his wife had lived in the corner unit on the first floor for fifteen years. They baked cookies for everyone at Christmas time the last seven years in a row and Mrs. Ripley was always asking about Mulder as though he was the bad boy down the block Scully needed protection from.

Scully used to think he played that part of the bad boy pretty well in his leather jacket and worn jeans. He would show up at all hours of the night, sometimes with liquor on his breath, and his awareness of Scully was all too evident as he stood too close and looked down her nightgown. If she really minded, she would have kicked him out but after her cancer, she felt relieved he noticed more about her than this woman who almost broke in front of him.

In the beginning of their partnership, Mrs. Ripley asked a number of questions about Mulder when she brought Scully’s misplaced mail or her latest recipe for her to share with her mother. It was nice that they checked up on her since they both thought she still worked out of Quantico and Mulder was some kind of a nuisance.

Mr. Ripley looked at Scully and then to Mulder. “Ah, you all right, Dana?”

Scully smiled patiently. “Mr. Ripley, I told you and Mrs. Ripley last year. I’m a field agent with the FBI. This happened with a suspect.”

Mulder nodded next to her. “The other guy looks worse.”

Mr. Ripley fought a scowl on his face as he looked at Mulder. “I see.”

“Do you have my key?” Scully asked in an attempt to get Mr. Ripley to move on.

The older man frowned at her.

“My key?” Scully repeated a little louder.

“Oh, right, your key. The cleaning crew said they were all done,” he said as though it was the first time he was giving her that information. He handed the key over to Scully and gave another look to Mulder. “So, you got into a fight?”

“A suspect,” Scully answered as she tucked her keys into her pocket. “We got the guy.”

Mr. Ripley frowned further. “Don’t let Myrna see you like that. She’ll lose her damned mind.”

Scully nodded with a tight smile. “Thank you, Mr. Ripley.”

“Ya, take care now,” he said and gave another unsure look to Mulder.

When Mr. Ripley was out of earshot, Mulder groaned audibly.

“They really think I’m that bad?”

“He’s not my father, Mulder,” she reminded him. “His opinion shouldn’t matter to you.”

“Maybe not, Scully,” he retorted. “But I still remember the scowling face of Myrna Ripley when she showed up at seven a.m. on a Monday morning to deliver your annual Christmas cookies and I walked out of your bathroom without a shirt on.”

“She didn’t understand that you were undressed around me a lot,” she informed him. Scully shook her head at the memory. “You used to act like it was no big deal for me to see you half naked.”

Mulder looked at her innocently. “I was hoping you’d reciprocate.”

That got Mulder a laugh and she saw his face light up at the sound of her enjoyment of that confession. They walked the rest of the way down Scully’s hallway to her door.

Mulder stood behind her as she fished her keys out of her jacket pocket. He must have noticed her shaking hands because he placed one steadying touch on her lower back and used his other to unlock the door.

He pushed the door open for Scully to enter and she took a few tentative steps inside. She stood at the end of her couch to look around her apartment.

There was a smell of definite chemicals masked by a false floral and lemon scent that made her throat constrict. The couch was half a foot off from it’s usual position on the carpet and her dining table was placed at an angle.

Her eyes fixated on the place that the body of Donnie Pfaster had fallen after she shot him numerous times. He had his last breath only five feet away from where her sister was shot with the intent of it being her.

This apartment had so many negative memories for her but the thought of moving hadn’t occurred to her until Mulder suggested it on the drive from the hotel. A home is a home, no matter the good and bad that takes place there. When she told him just that, he asked her what good came about in that place and she told him it was where she realized she loved him too.

Mulder closed the door gently behind Scully and he took her hand in his. “Are you okay?”

Scully looked up from the spotless floor to his wild green eyes. She forced a tight-lipped smiled. “I’m fine.”

There was an expression on his face as though he wanted to call her on her self-assessment but he refrained.

Down her hallway and to her bedroom, she looked at the bed and belongings in her room that had been moved back to their previous positions. A lamp was missing, her clock had a shattered face and the picture frames on her bookshelf had new glass in front of the photographs that witnessed Scully and Pfaster duke it out.

A list of items that were thrown out had been placed where her dresser lamp sat. Scully looked at the replaced mirror and noticed a piece of the manufacturers plastic wrap had been left on the edge. She toyed at the film with her nails and pulled off the offending strip. The material was sticky under her fingers and she stuck the piece across the typed list.

Mulder watched her as she took inventory of her room and she stopped at her bed where she saw her closet door slightly ajar.

“He was in there,” she said as she pointed to the closet that held her suits and shoes. “He saw me come in, take off my gun and undress.”

She saw Mulder’s jaw clench. It was a sign he was angry but she had to walk through the experience here. She approached the closet to open the door but he crossed the room to push it closed.

“He’s not in there now,” Mulder said firmly. “He’s not here.”

There was a beat of silence between them as she let his words wash over her. She would not go to sleep at night worrying about Donnie Pfaster. She wouldn’t repeat the fears she had after the first attack. It was over.

Scully squared her shoulders. “I want to have a bath.”

The announcement must have surprised Mulder because his panic face set in but he said nothing.

“I need to do this and take that back from him,” she said. “He can’t ruin what I love or who I am.”

Mulder took her hand in his. “I can leave-”

“No, Mulder,” she said quietly. “I need you to stay.”

He nodded and reached two fingers up to help her out of her jacket. As she turned to face him, she saw the worry in his eyes.

“I’m not going to break,” she said with determination. “I will not lose myself in the darkness and retreat.”

He smiled a little. “I know, Scully. You’re stronger than him.”

She looked up at him with a gleam in her eyes. “He won’t win.”

A swell of pride overcame his face and Mulder pulled her body to his. “That’s my-”

“Careful with that adjective,” she cut him off but she let herself relax into a hug anyway.

“I can say it,” he defended. “You demonstrated some serious girl-power, Scully. I saw the marks you left on Pfaster. Own it. Don’t be deterred by a gender stereotype. _Girls kick ass_.”

That got a laugh from her and she nodded. “Girls _do_ kick ass, Mulder.”

“And you’re one of the best,” he told her with the same confidence as when he told her the ‘blurry’ on a picture of a dusky sky was a UFO. “He won’t conquer you, even in his death. I know you won’t let it.”

The more belief Mulder had in an idea seemed to make it more true to her in its plausibility. His conviction in the idea helped her open her mind to possibilities that she was able to prove through her background in the hard facts every day. She had a scientific foundation for every notion and piece of evidence he presented to her. The doubt she held onto came from what science had explained in the past and could not reason in the future.

With his admiration of her, she didn’t need facts and figures to prove with an utmost reason why he loved her. She felt his unwavering conviction in her with the support and care he had provided.

He smiled down at her and she pulled his head down for a kiss. It wasn’t with the intent to excite or to entice him into bed. She needed his comfort and the gentle touch. Her body also missed his. It had been a week since they were together last and part of her ached to feel encompassed by him as he made it hurt in a good way.

His lips parted slightly and his tongue sought entrance into her mouth. She obliged and tasted the sweet familiarity of his kiss. He was pulling on her backside close to him and the kiss was quickly ardent and passionate.

She moaned as his fingers thread into her hair and he pushed her against the closet door to press his evident yearning for her into her belly. He must have missed her too. His hands moved down her body to palm her breasts and grab at her thighs. Every touch of his felt as though he was taking back what Pfaster threatened to tarnish.

What passionate kisses they began last night and stopped due to emotional trauma, they continued that afternoon with no road blocks or mental barriers. His jeans constrained the thick flesh and his hands lifted her to begin a slow dry hump against the wooden door. She laced her fingers into his hair and held his mouth to hers even though her lungs needed air.

The lack of oxygen would leave them both lightheaded but not enough to stop. Mulder’s mouth left hers and she gasped for air as his lips grazed her neck. A pinch on the skin and she felt the familiar teeth along her collarbone.

“I _missed_ you,” he said as his fingers dug into her thighs where he held her up. “I want you so badly, Scully.”

She ground herself into the length of his cock between them and she moaned. “Get me into that tub, Mulder.”

He helped her pull her shirt off over her head before they worked in unison to get his pants off. More kisses exchanged between each item of clothing being removed and the tub filled with a noisy declaration. Mulder looked at the bubbles along the shelf that had been sampled by Scully over the years. The one that was the most empty, the lavender oatmeal, caught her eye and she tossed the nearly empty bottle into the trash bin.

She held up the vanilla and honey bottle and opened the cap to take a long breath in. Mulder pulled the bottle to his face and took a whiff.

“I call that scent Sunday Morning Scully,” he said as he held her wrist that was holding the bottle.

“What’s different from Monday to Friday Scully?” she asked with a smile and she poured some of the thick liquid into the tub.

Mulder’s cheeks flushed as though he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. At this point, there was no need to be embarrassed about noticing these things in the past. She was well aware of his attraction to her prior to now but his confessions since their coupling had been a lovely discovery.

“Mulder?”

Mulder pulled his shirt off over his head and he pressed his face into the crook of her neck. “Like raspberries and a flower that I can’t name.”

“Peonies,” she replied with a smile and she felt her cheeks flush too. She set the bottle of bubble bath on the small hutch next to them and she licked her bottom lip as a nervous tick. “And jasmine.”

Mulder pressed his face into her neck again and kissed her skin softly. His hands were running up the bare skin exposed to him and she felt the safeness of his embrace.

“You know Scully, I don’t mind admitting over the last seven years, that smell had a tendency to drive me crazy,” he told her. “I mean sexually speaking. Your rationalizations and need for scientific proof drove me crazy in other ways.”

Scully stepped away from him slightly to remove the last of her garments and turn off the water. Just as she was about to step in the tub, the landline telephone rang.

With his erection tenting in his boxer shorts and a look of full desire on his face, Mulder groaned in frustration. “ _No_.”

Scully grabbed her robe and left her bedroom to where the telephone had been reinstalled. The phone continued to sing its need for an answer.

“Hello?”

“Agent Scully, I need to see you and Agent Mulder ASAP.”

A.D. Skinner’s voice was nothing but businesslike on weekend calls. Never an apology to interrupt her off-hours or a question if she was busy. A call to duty was just a matter of expected attendance at this point. After so many years of working with Mulder and her weekends hardly being free for travel or relaxation, she just assumed that when she retired from the FBI, she could accept a life that didn’t involve being on call.

“Agent Scully?”

“Yes sir,” Scully replied. “I’ll be right in.”

“Tell Mulder, would you?” Skinner requested.

“Sir?”

“He told me this morning he was taking you home from the hotel,” Skinner explained. “I assumed he was with you right now since he isn’t answering his cell phone.”

Still dressed in just his boxer shorts and a deflating erection, Mulder approached her from down the hall. “Who is it?”

Scully handed the phone to Mulder and left to get herself dressed for a meeting. She watched Mulder’s face fall as he listened to Skinner order him in.

“All right. We’ll be there in twenty,” Mulder promised and set the phone down on the receiver. He and Scully made eye contact as she stood at her bathroom door. “There’s been another murder.”

She looked from the man who desired her, then to the wasted bathwater. “Another time I guess.”

Mulder nodded regretfully. “Let’s get dressed then, G-Woman.”


	3. Finding Each Other Again

After a long weekend of rain, bright sunshine pierced through the vertical blinds of Walter Skinner’s office and Scully adjusted her place at the conference table as they sat across from a Colorado Eagle County Sheriff’s Office representative.

The off-duty deputy was dressed in a business suit instead of his uniform and Scully inferred his attire to mean he was not there on official business. He introduced himself as Deputy Greene and she could imagine Mulder making a comment about how that applied to the young man’s level of experience.

For the last hour, the case had been presented to them again in such a way by Skinner and local law enforcement that they were going to need to take a more “fruitful” approach to this investigation. A sinking feeling that some acting and preparation would be needed.

A video monitor hummed as it sat on pause after Deputy Greene brought in a shaky video of one of the victims being left for dead in the woods at the base of the Vail mountains. What was captured was a dark figure running from the site that moved clumsily but the macabre scene of a man who had already breathed his last breath and a woman brutalized by what abandoned them there.

A knock at the door prompted Skinner to cross the office to answer it. Another set of agents dressed in black suits were waiting with a bankers box and glancing eagerly into the conference room.

When one of the agents made eye contact with Scully, he nudged his partner and they nodded at each other.

“Agents Bristol and Martinez are here to brief you on what they discovered over the last week in Vail, Colorado,” Skinner informed Mulder and Scully.

“This ought to be good since the first murder took place three months ago,” Mulder muttered.

Ignoring Mulder’s dig, Martinez and Bristol set their boxes down on the table and shook hands with the Eagle County sheriff.

“Nice to see you again, Tim,” Martinez greeted the sheriff before extending his hand to Mulder. “Agent Mulder. I’m Rick Martinez.”

Bristol extended his hand to Scully and made a solid effort at maintaining eye contact instead of studying the cuts and bruises on her face and neck. She had to give him points for that.

“Agent Scully,” Bristol said. “James Bristol. Rick and I are looking forward to working with you.”

“I’m sorry,” Scully began. “I thought A.D. Skinner was sending us to Vail on our own.”

“Agents Bristol and Martinez have been in Vail for the last month since the third couple was murdered,” Skinner explained.

“We just want to see this through,” Bristol explained. “We’ve had some roadblocks with the locals.”

“Where did you find a roadblock?” Mulder asked with a tone that Scully recognized as bordering on patronizing.

“Well for one, we’re not a heterosexual couple,” Martinez said obviously as he pointed his thumb to Bristol.

That they were not. Bristol and Martinez looked like they were picked for the FBI handbook for diversity but being both men, they were definitely not a heterosexual couple. Martinez, standing at a sturdy 6’, had dark almond shaped eyes, caramel coloured skin and a slight accent that insinuated his Spanish was probably faster this his gun. Bristol stood at an intimidating 6’4” with a subtle fade in his black hair and coffee coloured skin.

“I beg your pardon?” Scully asked.

A sudden sinking feeling hit her as she worried that Karen Kosseff outed their relationship to Skinner. Her underarms threatened stress sweat and she shifted in her seat to try to remain poker-faced.

“The people who were all murdered were couples,” Martinez explained.

“I like Jim a lot and would do almost anything for the FBI but one of us in drag isn’t going to cut it. This killer is looking for a man and a woman,” Martinz replied. “I’ll say that point alone makes me think this isn’t Bigfoot because what giant ape would _specify_ his victims?”

“Bigfoot might be a simian but at this stage of the evolutionary game, its probably closer to a man,” Mulder clarified as he scratched at his two-day stubble. His way of thumbing his nose at authority this weekend had been to forego shaving for this meeting. “Half man, half beast, to be exact. However, anything more animalistic in nature won’t specify gender for victims and rarely do they kill without cause or need. Food, protection of one’s territory-”

“That’s why we _need_ you two,” Martinez interrupted. “We can’t investigate on that level. We work with the VCU in Denver but no amount of profiling was able to crack this.”

Scully felt relieved no one had taken to heckling Mulder about his reputation.

“We need you guys on this with us. We want to work with you. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t able to admit we can’t do it without your expertise,” Martinez told them as he folded his hands and leaned forward on his elbows toward Mulder. The man smirked and glanced over to his partner. “Although Jim, I still contest you would make a very handsome woman if you did decide to go real deep undercover.”

Scully rolled her eyes as the comment. While misogyny ran deep through the FBI and there were steps to battle that, comments toward people from protected communities could still be problematic. It bothered her as a person to listen to others degrade anyone for a natural feeling. She always viewed a person as a person, no matter how they were born. After all this time and what she had witnessed through her job, she felt if the act was between consenting adults, a person’s orientation didn’t and shouldn’t matter. The FBI and members of law enforcement had a long way to go.

“What Rick is trying to say is that we need you two to pose as a couple,” Bristol said and looked over to Skinner. “I thought you told them this?”

“We were just getting to that before you showed up,” Skinner said as he scratched his eyebrow with his thumbnail.

“I still don’t follow how you two had troubles in your investigation,” Scully spoke up.

“Vail is a tight-knit community,” Greene spoke up. “My boss and the council members understand that while tourists dying is bad for tourism, it’s not enough to break down the wall of miscommunication and talk to the FBI.”

Mulder leaned forward on his elbows. “And?”

“I’ve only been on the job a year and we investigate the hell out of any robbery, stolen car or heck even hunting without a license. We want justice in Vail but these people were brutally and forcibly attacked. We’ve assisted the FBI as much as a fart helps in a windstorm…” Greene stopped himself when he made eye contact with Scully and he shook his head. “Apologies, ma’am but I’ve never seen my boss or the people in my town just _accept_ that something bad was happening.”

“How does this relate to Bigfoot?” Mulder asked.

“You gotta understand about Bigfoot and the folklore that surrounds Sasquatch-like creatures in Colorado,” Greene said as a hint of reddish embarrassment crept up on his cheeks. “This is the year 2000 but the town acts as though Bigfoot is real. And somehow calling it a Bigfoot attack over labelling what it really is, probably someone in the community up to no good, is wrong. They’re _letting_ someone get away with murder.”

Scully looked through the file in front of her at the list of names of those who had been murdered. “What do you need us to do?”

“We think by coming to the community, posing as couple visiting Vail, you can get more information than what we uncovered,” Bristol spoke up. “If you pose as a couple, do the tourist thing, visit for a couple of weeks, you’ll be able to see this case from a different angle.”

“In the last week, we were able to find some hair and fibres on one of the bodies we sent to Denver but otherwise we have bupkiss,” Martinez spoke up. “We want to work _with_ you. Be a liaison in town, keep our investigation going and meet with you-”

“If the townsfolk of Vail won’t meet with the FBI, how will it help if we’re meeting with you?” Mulder interrupted.

“The library and post office have both been staked out for meeting places,” Bristol explained. “We’ll continue to pound the pavement, push the Sheriff to work the case and any evidence you collect while undercover can be given to us and sent to Denver for analyzing and testing.”

Skinner handed Mulder and Scully each a file. “These are your backgrounds, assumed identities and assignments.”

Mulder opened the page and looked over to Scully. “Don’t gloat.”

“Mitchell and Sophie Robinson?” Scully read off the page and glanced over to Mulder. This was on a list of names she submitted to Skinner the day after they got back from Arcadia falls. “I won’t.”

“Agent Scully, we had to create a back story for you based on your injuries,” Skinner replied and shifted uncomfortably. “You’re a doctor in D.C. taking time off after an altercation with a patient.”

“How convenient for your case,” Mulder muttered.

“Agent Mulder, you work with a think tank here in D.C.,” Skinner continued. “You’ve been married a little over a year.”

“All set?” Bristol asked.

Mulder and Scully glanced at one another and nodded slightly before confirming with the Denver agents.

Bristol and Martinez stood up and the shorter of the two men cleared his throat. “We’re heading back to Denver this afternoon. Jim and I have appointments with family members of the victims scheduled but we will touch base ASAP. We have a townhouse rented for you two for the next few weeks.”

“Where do you stay in Vail?” Scully asked out of curiosity as she and Mulder stood up.

“Off the I-70, at the Comfort Inn,” Bristol answered. "We check out every weekend to save the taxpayer some money but if we need to we can hang out on the weekends."

They all shook hands before exchanging FBI issued business cards with contact information on them. When they had cleared the room, Skinner slid the box of files and notes across to the agents.

“Your ID’s and backstory are on top. Special Operations is waiting for you two with wedding rings, credit cards and per diem reminders,” Skinner replied. His telephone rang at that moment and he left the conference table to answer it. “Excuse me.”

Greene had gotten up from the conference table and was walking around the edge of Skinner’s office to study the pictures on the wall. Pieces of a flag burned at a 1960s protest in a glass frame, a photo of Janet Reno with Bill Clinton, and a painting by a Native American artist Scully had appreciated over the years.

Scully got up from the table to talk with Greene. He had been watching her closely during their meeting with Bristol and Martinez and she wanted to clear the air before they began the case.

“Deputy Greene,” Scully began as she approached him. “I hope we can be of some assistance on this case.”

Greene turned to Scully and his intense blue eyes bore into her. He had the look of a man who regretted more than he was letting on. “One of the victims was my cousin. I told her and her husband to come for a visit to Vail. They had been having troubles in their marriage. If I told her to just leave him instead of coming to Vail to work on things, she might be alive.”

“Are you from Vail?” Mulder asked as he joined them by the couch along the wall.

Mulder stood a half inch too close to Scully that if he was anyone else, it would bristle her feathers. But because it was him, she had grown accustomed to the invasion of her space. Even now, after their relationship began, she found herself still excited by his close proximity and it could make for dangerous distractions.

“No,” Greene answered. “I’m from Denver originally. I moved to Vail when jobs were scarce everywhere else. Took the LE exam on a whim and got in. I used to work for the Department of Agriculture. Layoffs happened over the last few years and I was the last one hired, first one fired.”

“That’s a bit of a leap from Inspection and Consumer Services to law enforcement,” Mulder noted and Scully gave him a quizzical look. “This isn’t my first parlay with a Bigfoot case.”

“Let me guess, you have an X-File on this dating back to 1964,” Scully mused dryly.

“The 1920s, actually, and most of the stories originate around the Pacific North West, not Colorado,” he told her.

Scully shook her head and glanced back to Greene who was studying her closely.

“Are you sure you’re up for this, Agent Scully?” Greene asked in a tone she couldn’t quite place on patronizing or condescending but it was close.

“Hey,” Mulder said stepping toward the deputy between Scully and Greene. “Don’t ask her that. Ask me that. Agent Scully is _more_ than capable to handle this investigation. Her medical and scientific expertise will be one of the _key_ elements in which she and I make headway where your office and those two failed.”

Greene glanced over Mulder’s shoulder and before he looked back at the tall man in front of him, he caught Scully’s gaze. She was resolute. The deputy nodded slightly.

“Most female LE’s in Vail that have altercations with suspects take three to six months off. I’m within reasonable grounds to ask. It’s why the Sheriff’s Office hasn’t hired a new female deputy in the last three years.”

“Not only is that painfully sexist, you’re running the risk of a law suit,” Mulder muttered as he took another step toward Greene. “She’s fine.”

Scully put a hand on Mulder’s wrist. “Mulder.”

Greene and Mulder were having a quiet standoff but Mulder tore his eyes away from the man in front of them to look down to his partner. They made a silent agreement to let this comment slide and Mulder stepped back from Greene.

“I don’t mean it as an offensive remark,” Greene began.

“It is but you’d be surprised that’s not the worst thing I’ve heard about my capability as an agent,” Scully muttered as she released Mulder’s arm. “Can we get back to the case?”

Mulder looked at the deputy and she could see the petulant attitude in his eyes. “So, I have to ask, how much do you buy into the lore of Bigfoot?”

“I think it’s a bunch of garbage to blame these murders on a creature, that if it did exist, wouldn’t be chasing down tourists and only couples,” Greene replied. “It would attack other animals.”

Mulder, still standing in front of Scully, looked over his shoulder to her. “Really?”

“Do you believe it exists?” she asked the deputy.

Greene shrugged. “I doubt such a thing could hide in the White River National Forest-”

“But?” Mulder prompted.

“I saw with my own eyes something that I couldn’t explain…” Greene began and his cheeks reddened with embarrassment. “I _thought_ I saw it.”

“Unfortunately, Deputy, your video tape only shows a dark figure moving away from the scene,” Scully pointed out. “Excuse me.”

She left the men standing at the corner of the office and sat down in front of her case file to study the previous murders. Each had a thorough report of the incident, photographs of the crime scenes as well as imprint samples of prints found at each location.

As she pulled the footprint photo with a #7 marker and an L-shaped ruler next to it, she made a note in her book. The creature had an 11 1/2 inch foot which meant if this was a man, he wore a size 12 shoe. She made the note it was not a common foot size and continued looking through the evidence.

Mulder sat down next to her and leaned in closely as she wrote another set of notes about the impressions of the footprint.

“I don’t think Deputy Greene will be the only issue with misogyny we might face on this case, Scully,” he whispered

“We might face?” she asked as she continued to scrawl in her book.

_Absence of toe impressions in mud suggest the print is not authentic. Silicone or polymer overlay?_

“He told me the last female deputy in the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office has a pending suit against one of the council members,” he said in a low voice. “An attempted rape charge that hasn’t gone anywhere.”

“Why is that relevant?” she asked as she turned her face to him.

“I think there’s a seedy underbelly to Vail and we’re going to be looking at more than just Bigfoot and dead tourists,” he suggested quietly as he looked down to her mouth. “I don’t know yet, Scully but it might all tie together.”

“Mulder, you might want to hold those theories to yourself while we meet with Bristol and Martinez,” she replied as she looked over his shoulder to Greene and back to her partner’s face. “Unless you have evidence to back up your theory, you need to tread carefully with them.”

He made a disapproving face as he sat back in his chair and picked up one of the photographs.

“ _Way up in the north and deep in the dark pines that blacken the Cascade Range…_ ” he sang the [Buddy Knox tune](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMl7MCTWIxM). “ _They still tell tales of an Indian legend-_ ”

“Mulder,” Scully warned and fought a smile as she looked back down at her notes.

“ _Sasquatch is the legend, Bigfoot is the name_ ,” he crooned leaning over to her.

“You two finished with sing-along?” Skinner asked as he approached and fixed his glasses back on his face. “I need my office back and you’re expected at SO in five.”

Scully smiled tightly at Skinner and placed each photo back into the files she took them from. “We are.”

As she loaded the files back into the bankers box, Mulder walked past the television and waited for Scully at Skinner’s office door. He placed his right hand on her lower back and she felt something poking her between his fingers.

“We’ll be in touch, sir,” Mulder promised and closed the door behind them.

Once they found themselves in the outer office, Mulder took the box from Scully and set the video tape on top of the lid.

“Mulder, did Greene say you could have that?” she admonished.

Mulder slid the tape under the lid and smiled innocently at Greene as he approached them. “Deputy.”

“I’m heading back to Denver this evening. I’ll be around your condo tomorrow evening when you’re settled in. I’m on duty and can stop by,” Greene promised.

“Will that be unusual for a deputy on duty?” Mulder asked and Greene shrugged. “We’ll call you when we get in. Let us get situated and set up our cover.”

Greene nodded. “You two really are the best people we could ask for. I swear there was a minute back there-”

“What?” Mulder interrupted.

Greene shook his head as though he thought better of it. “I’ll see you in the Rockies.”

“See you in the Rockies,” he repeated in a mocking tone only Scully would detect.

The deputy waved over his shoulder and disappeared down the hallway and into a ready elevator.

Scully pulled the tape out of the top of the box and held the pilfered item between her fingers. “Let me guess? You want to call Chuck before we leave for Colorado.”

Mulder snapped his fingers and pointed at Scully. “It’s like we’re already married.”

A raised eyebrow and tongue on her lip made him erupt with laughter.

“Partner-like marriage. Not romantic.”

Scully rolled her eyes as she headed down the hall to the bank of elevators. “Of course not, why would anyone suggest such a silly thing?”

“Hey, wait up,” he called after her and he smirked as he caught up. “Too soon?”

She pressed the down button to get them to the fourth floor and paused for a beat as she thought about what he just said.

“Scully?” he prompted.

The elevator dinged for each floor it passed as they rode in silence.

“Confusing,” she answered finally. “And from now on it’s not Scully. It’s Sophie.”

Mulder sighed as he leaned his tall frame against the wall of the car. Somehow he managed to look lazy and dangerous with just a simple move. “I guess it’s better than Scarlett and Fox.”

“Who would suggest _that_?” she asked as their car hit the fourth floor stop.

Mulder waited for her to exit first and he shifted the box under his arm. “When we were going to Arcadia last year, the guys in the SO office were giving me suggestions before I picked Rob and Laura.”

“Such yuppie names,” Scully muttered.

“I went to school with people named Bradford, Fletcher and Winslow. All first names,” he reminded her and she laughed. “Fox didn’t stand out until I got to Oxford.”

Scully nodded. She remembered him explaining that he tried to go by William for a semester, but the name was so common, confusion ensued. By his second semester, he was known as just “Mulder” to his classmates and teachers, which suited everyone just fine.

“So why Fox and Scarlett?” Scully asked as they continued down the quiet hallway. “Those sound more fictional than Sophie and Mitchell Robinson.”

“My first name is so unbelievable, it actually sounds like a fake name,” Mulder muttered.

Scully touched his arm and gave him a mock look of sympathy. “No one has to call you Fox unless you want them to, _okay_ you big baby?”

“Mitchell and Robinson are actually two of the most common last names in the United States so I see how you deviated just slightly from calling me John Smith,” he teased.

A young agent in casual attire poked his head out of the office on the end. “Agents? Can we get this show on the road? My wife has been paging me since I got here.”

Mulder leaned down to Scully’s ear. “Wouldn’t want to get the missus riled up.”

Scully smiled tightly at the agent waiting. “Apologies, we’re here!”

What everyone liked to forget at the FBI immediately after graduation was the amount of work that went into any undercover assignment. You had to be a completely different person while still feeling natural to yourself. Everything about this persona needed to be apart from everything in your life as to not slip back into your old self. The problem with being undercover is the deeper you went, the more dangerous and lonely it could become.

Mulder and Scully were lucky to have one another on this. They were trained in hand-to-hand combat, forensics and evidence collection as well as the painful fact that their jurisdiction on this case was weak at best.

Scully stood in front of the passport, drivers licence and credit cards for Sophie Mitchell and put them in the yellow alligator skin wallet. Mulder came up behind her and pointed to the wedding bands on the display case.

“What do you think, Sophie?” he started as he picked up one of the most ostentatious rings she had ever seen. It was a three piece set not suitable for a doctor but Mulder’s eye was drawn to it. He got down on one knee and offered the first of three rings to her with the same flourish he offered a toothbrush only weeks ago. “Will you be my fake wife? To observe and to spy with? To deceive and to capture wrongdoers?”

Scully fought another smile. “Get up.”

Mulder slid each ring on her hand and gave the SO agent a smirk. “She loves me, I tell you. This kind of crap I do really endears her to me.”

As he stood up, she admired the diamond set on her hand with reservation. They were lovely but not entirely subtle and her sense of jewellery always bordered on safe and reserved. Then again, she wasn’t going to be Dana Scully for the next few weeks. She was going to be Sophie Robinson, M.D.

Scully handed Mulder the ring that sat adjacent to the one he gave her. “Maybe Mitchell Robinson likes pinky rings.”

Mulder held up his hands defensively. “I’ll be good. Let's not say something we'll regret.”

“No wonder they picked you two for this case,” the young man sneered. “Better than the last agents we had come through here that pretended to be married.”

“How do most agents react to going undercover?” Scully asked cautiously.

“They think they have to be angry about it if they’re portraying a couple,” the young man replied. “It’s not a joke or playing pretend. You have to be these people or someone could _die_. In most cases, single agents fair well. It’s the couples that have problems. Too many wrong expectations or they don’t do the groundwork on their files.”

Mulder suddenly was very captivated by his passport, credit cards and drivers licence.

“Is that your parting word of advice?” Scully asked.

“Watch your six,” the agent advised seriously and she could hear Mulder’s internal groan.

  
****

Sunday evening required careful packing and planning. After an exhausting trip to L.L. Bean, Mulder helped Scully into her apartment with her shopping bags and stood in the doorway awkwardly with an evident desire to stay.

“Are you hungry, Scully? We could order in and look over the different case files,” he suggested.

There was a look on his face she recognized but his tone insinuated he had no other intentions but to work. She felt tired from the day and frustrated with the amount of testosterone she had to stomach on a Sunday. Their flight from Dulles took off at 9:45 a.m. to land them in Denver by 3 p.m. with a ninety-minute layover in Atlanta. They would then have a two-hour drive from Denver to Vail via rental car.

When Mulder heard about the itinerary, he groaned loudly at the inefficiency but then leered at Scully. They could make out at the Grindhouse Burger’s booth like he’s always wanted to. Scully scoffed at the notion she would be groped in a red vinyl booth with the smell of grilled beef in the background but told Mulder he could get to second base later that night. It seemed to improve his mood as they were picking out jeans and corduroy slacks for his persona as Mitchell Robinson.

He had a few items that would be recycled from Arcadia, as did she, but the majority of their outdoor gear was more purposeful than fashionable. The problem with never going hiking as a couple is they didn’t have anything that was purchased for an aesthetic. Hardly any of what Mulder had in his closet could pass as a married man and eventually he conceded the shopping trip was necessary.

“Food?” he suggested again.

Scully nodded and wrapped her arms around herself to rub her palms up her triceps. “We probably should go over our backstory.”

“I could go pick up a bottle of gin if you’re feeling inclined?” he said with a smile.

Scully stepped around him and pushed the door closed. “I don’t know if we should study with a buzz.”

Mulder nodded in agreement but she could see the disappointment flash in his eyes. “I’ll get the files from the car.”

“I don’t think you should shave while we’re in Colorado,” she said quietly as she closed the space between them.

His fingers and palm scraped across his stubbled cheek. “Yeah?”

“Mitchell Robinson could have a beard,” she said quietly with a smile.

“Beard for a pinky ring?” he bartered even though she dropped the suggestion as quickly as she made it.

He was trying to appease her and she appreciated that.

“Maybe gin would be nice,” Scully mused as she thought about the night they were forced to share a bed. “I could study with a slight hum.”

Mulder kissed her cheek. “I’ll head to the liquor store.”

Her hand reached up to his neck and pulled him down for a slow kiss. His hands quickly palmed her backside as their mouths opened and she slipped her tongue along his. They had unfinished business from that afternoon and she hoped he hadn’t forgotten.

He kicked away bags of overpriced flannel and cashmere to push her against her door and kiss her for all he was worth while her belly flipped with anticipation.

When she pulled her lips from his, she saw the yearning in his eyes and the confirmation he hadn’t. Her hormones felt in flux but her nipples ached for his mouth and she longed to be straddling him on a bed or the floor with nothing between them but the slickness of their sexes.

“You could…” she started as she played with the collar of his sweater. “If you want… you could get some things for the trip and stay the night?”

His smile told her he was looking forward to just that. He kissed her quickly goodbye with the tasks for that evening set in motion. She would order supper. Mulder would pack a few items for the trip and they would meet back at her place with alcohol and intent to study. She was hoping there might be something else on the itinerary that evening.

After ordering from Wok and Roll for delivery, Scully took out the luggage set from her spare room and changed the sheets on her bed. She was just starting another load of laundry when Mulder returned with his suitcase, a bottle of gin and the bankers box from Bristol and Martinez.

“Hey Scully, do you ever look back at how things were two or three years ago and wish we did this sooner?” Mulder asked as he unloaded the files onto the kitchen table.

She smiled a little at his enthusiasm for their sleepover. “We spent almost the same amount of time together.”

“Yeah but this time I get to do fun, grown-up things with you and we’re _naked_ for it,” he reminded her and his smile grew. “Not a bad upgrade, wouldn’t you say?”

Scully laughed. “I think the sex is a pretty great upgrade. I don’t know if we would have survived a romantic entanglement any sooner.”

Mulder made a face and she laughed again.

“I think we would have,” he said glumly as he sat at her kitchen table with the intent to work through his disappointment.

Scully fixed them each a drink and sat adjacent to him. “You’re surprisingly optimistic.”

He took a sip from his glass and looked at her with his hopeful green eyes like he was asking her to help him prove a theory no one else would listen to. “Scully, I’m sure you’re aware of this but don’t you find that once all this started between us, it just felt right to keep going? Even with some of the hiccups?”

“Mulder, I think what makes this work is that we have a friendship that survived a lot of bad before we made it to this,” she told him and rubbed his forearm reassuringly.

Mulder looked down into his tumbler and took another sip.

“However, if I had known we would be so great at the fun, naked, grown-up activities, I might have offered you more than a theoretical sleeping bag,” she quipped.

His face lit up and he nodded once as though that was a good enough answer.

A scientific mind like hers appreciated the theories and tangents that Mulder’s mind would run off onto. Logic and sound reason always overcame each improbable and disproven wild fantasy, not just for her but with science. The only exception was her faith. She felt a faith in Mulder, too.

“You’ve asked me that before,” she reminded him and took out her notebook from earlier.

Mulder took a long drink from his glass and shrugged nonchalantly. “Maybe I’ve been thinking.”

She pushed her chin out toward him and turned her face to the side as a way of listening more clearly. She noted she had started doing that when they first started working together as though the tick of pushing one ear closer to his face could make his crazy theory somehow easier to understand.

“About what, Mulder?” she asked.

“About us, Scully, and how we were before,” he said contemplatively as she continued to lay out the crime scene photos as she had at Skinner’s office. “I wasn’t very nice to you all the time.”

“You thought I was a _spy_ ,” she said as though that was explanation enough for his behaviour.

“I used to ditch you, ignore your science and call you for bail money,” he recounted.

“You still do two of those things,” she teased and he frowned obviously. “I told Ellen you were a jerk.”

Mulder’s eyebrows shot up at the confession. “ _When_?”

“Right before she set me up with Rob, the most boring man on the planet,” she laughed.

“The guy who called the office twice a week even after you ended it?” he clarified.

Scully shrugged. “He kept hoping I would change my mind.”

“I could have told him how hard you are to convince of anything,” he scoffed and they both laughed. “In all honesty, you thought I was a jerk?”

“I told her you were cute too. I was mad because you ditched me to drive back to D.C. by myself in Friday night traffic,” she reminded him. “So you could search for that beast woman.”

Mulder nodded again with a glum expression and finished his drink. “Am I close to being less of a jerk?”

“Of course,” she reassured him. “I mean, you’re not going to host any dinner parties for my birthday but you’re a better man than when we met.”

“It’s because of you,” he said earnestly. “You really do make me a whole person and that other junk I said before that damned bee interrupted us.”

“You say the sweetest things, Mulder,” she said as she leaned across the table and kissed him quickly.

They were silent for a moment as they studied the papers in front of them but she could hear his mind going over the personal information she just gave him.

"So, uh, Scully, would you want a dinner party for your birthday?” Mulder asked lightly.

He picked up one of the photographs in front of them but she saw through his bluff.

She shook her head. “I wouldn’t want all that attention and fuss. By the time my next birthday comes around, I’ll appreciate something quiet. Maybe we could do something _not_ work-related.”

They spent her birthday this year on a case but each night that week Mulder had surprised her with something new and unexpected in bed. He got her flowers when they got back to D.C. and she showed him her appreciation with an oral return. It worked for them.

“I’ll put the leave in for both of us now,” Mulder promised and kissed her again.

The kiss deepened quickly and she whimpered as his hands pulled her onto his lap. It was intense and frenzied instantly. She pushed her hips forward and felt his desire stretch along his thigh in his jeans. Something that Scully never expected was how excited she could get with him so soon after a simple touch.

She dipped her hips against his again and moved them back and forth in a swift circular motion that made him groan into her mouth and kiss her more deeply. His left hand found her breast and squeezed experimentally while the other gripped at her thigh as she moved against him. They were mimicking the actions of teenagers with impatient and eager movements. As a teen, she never knew the bliss that could bestow upon her by the talents of another man. She assumed it was mostly clumsy or there was something wrong with her.

It wasn’t until she began her science studies at UMD when she learned more about human anatomy and had a boyfriend who attempted more than just clumsy fingers before using her for completion. There had been good and bad experiences since then but nothing as powerful as the release she found with Mulder.

Of course, because he knew her so completely, he knew how to watch her cues and pay attention to what worked for her. He spent every concourse in bed pushing to prolong her release and make it as memorable as he could. His passion for the truth reassuringly transitioned to his attentions in the bedroom. He was tenacious and hard working. He was passionate and ardent but mostly, he was enthusiastic.

 _God bless him_.

That is exactly what she said their last time together as he drove her to ecstasy using his hands and body to advance her pleasure. He found that to be humorous after the fact but as he thrust in and out of her, he merely grunted and watched in fascination as she came again.

“ _Scully_ ,” Mulder whispered as she ground her hips into his.

He always said her name in such reverie and awe as they were together. It was as though he couldn’t believe after all he had seen, that he could witness such a sight. Over the last seven years, they had seen so much with each other and of each other. They fought their emotions against the poignant rawness of a breakdown over family lost to their cause.

He told her that every time she stuck out her chin at the authoritative men that tried to shut them down, his trust and affection for her grew. When she looked at him with impassioned eyes and a parted lips, it was as though he was seeing the miracles of the unknown.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said as he kissed her neck.

She felt beautiful in his hands. With him, she wasn’t Dana Scully, a medical doctor and FBI agent. She was this person who could let down her walls and give in to the pleasures of unbridled carnal desires with him. After what she endured from Donnie Pfaster, there was no safer space than the arms of the man who loved her unconditionally and without question.

Scully captured his lips again and felt her excitement grow. They continued to taste one another as she reached her hands under his shirt and scratched her nails down his back. Their lips parted as they panted against one another. Foreplay was not something Mulder would ever skip over for the sake of his own needs. Tonight was no exception. His rigid flesh was hitting all the right places as she rocked on top of him and she could see the slack-jawed expression she recognized.

“I want you inside me, Mulder,” Scully whispered as she stood up off his lap. “I need you.”

Mulder stood up and shed his sweater and T-shirt. He pulled her body back to his and they barely made it out of the kitchen before they were in a pile of limbs on the floor behind her couch. She had her arms wrapped around his neck and her bare feet pushing into the floor as he pushed her shirt up with one hand and removed her bra.

He straightened on his knees above her and as she removed her shirt and bra from her torso, Mulder unzipped his jeans. She watched as he pushed his jeans and boxers slowly down his hips and his cock twitched as she licked her lips.

Scully hooked her thumbs into the leggings she changed into earlier as Mulder pulled them her legs with some difficulty.

“ _Why_ do you have to wear pants?” he asked with a voice that made her laugh.

“Pants or some kind of cover on my legs are a societal standard, Mulder,” she replied with a smile and he continued his attempt to undress her.

Her pants finally left her ankles and he placed them beside his knees with her panties. “Those ones make it hard to get you naked, Scully.”

“I’m sorry that was difficult for you,” she teased.

The light-hearted banter didn’t take away from where they were or how they were getting together finally after a week apart. This was not the kind of tender, soft moment she was anticipating in a bathtub earlier that day. She wanted him inside of her no matter the geography of their bodies in her apartment.

“I _missed_ you,” he breathed as he settled himself on top of her.

She reached between them and guided the tip of his cock inside her body. It might have been a week but it felt like longer.

They somehow lived a thousand lives during each case and survived by the skin of their teeth. Someday, in the future, she would insist they slow down but right now she was appreciating a life with him that involved the scary monsters that jumped in the dark. After Pfaster, she knew she could overcome them.

Someone like Pfaster would make her revisit that statement yet she couldn’t help herself that she loved her job and all the things that went along with it.

There was no need to remind her of her own mortality but she certainly felt the most alive when she was with Mulder. Their work, the sex, the way he said her name or coming to save her whenever she was in danger were just some of the things she knew she was addicted to. Getting into the X-Files was like a drug but instead of an illicit substance, the job gave her a high from uncovering the unknown, tearing it apart and putting science to it.

Now, as Mulder pushed completely inside her, she realized she could be addicted to him too. The size and girth of his cock made her ache just a little bit but she liked it. The way he moved on top of her was like he spoke a hidden language with his body only she could hear.

He put his hand under her left knee and spread her wide to him, sinking in just a little deeper. They moaned in unison. Mulder propped himself on one arm and put his other hand between them to find her bundle of nerves. His thumb spread her arousal across her sex and she felt her body contract. He was watching her face intently as he moved his thumb slowly and his hips pulled back slightly.

“ _Oh_!” she cried out as he thrust once and slowly.

His thumb was moving slowly in small circles around her clit and she felt the inner muscles of the place he claimed a few weeks ago swell. The feelings and sensations of arousal were so much to process. Her body felt as though it was climbing toward a climax that the closer she got to it, the bigger the release was going to be. The muscles in her neck tensed as she gripped at the area rug underneath her back. Her lips swelled as her walls inside her constricted around his cock.

It was overwhelming and dominating, to say the least. He felt large inside but she felt empowered by what he brought out in her. She was a sexual woman who had passions she wanted to share. He tapped into that well like an explorer searching for a drink. There was so much between them that could be conveyed with just a simple look and now, as they moved against one another on the floor of her apartment, she knew it translated to how they expressed themselves physically with each other.

It was more than just sex. This was an expression of seven long years of yearning and longing. She might have had a fantasy that played out exactly like this, in the quiet moments of her bed as she willed herself to sleep and not think about Mulder. Her mind knew the lines of his body and put forth a vision of him between her thighs when she was trying to keep things between them platonic.

The movements of his thumb and his cock twitching inside her brought her out of the tangents her mind were drifting off to.

“I love you, Scully,” he said as his hips and thumb began to move in a tandem rhythm. “ _Fuck, you get so tight when I do this_.”

He released her leg and she pushed into the floor with her heels to keep up. It was exactly the actions she needed and she felt the release pending. It felt intense as she waited for the liberation from the shackles of every emotional onslaught from this week.

As she reached the apex to her climax, she felt close to letting go into the proclamation of passions and ardent fervour. She wanted to lose herself in this release and yet as close as it came, it wasn’t happening. There were small, almost ineffective denotations of her orgasm through her body. Nothing like the overall complete release she knew could happen. It wasn’t like the times before when she had to muffle her screams into a pillow as Mulder rode her raw.

“Don’t…” she whimpered. “Oh god, so clo-”

Her voice caught in her throat as the next small climax occurred. She grunted in frustration and pushed herself up on her hands. Mulder helped her into his lap and she began to slowly rotate as he began to moan as she moved on top of him.

“Fuck,” he moaned in a long drawn out syllable. His breath was hot on her neck as he allowed her to take him into his own liberation from the tension of this week. “Oh god, _Dana_.”

It was the first time he had used her given name in a moment of passion. She liked every syllable as it escaped his lips in a breathy moan but she didn’t know if calling him Fox would be as welcomed. After all, they had been through that week, Mulder had been hurt too. His walls were down at that moment as he pushed in and out of her and he was needing the balm on the ache that their coupling could provide.

She wrapped her arm around his neck and worked her hips in small circles. The head of his hardened flesh was pushing against her cervix and she could feel every part of him inside her jerking before he shuddered his own powerful release. His fingers dug into the cheeks of her ass as he thrust up one final time.

A knock at the door signalled their take out had arrived and a panic expression overtook both their faces.

“Wok and Roll!” a voice called through the door.

“Just a second!” Mulder called to the door as he laid Scully down on the floor.

He slipped out of her slowly and signalled he would get the door since she had to clean herself up. She grabbed most of her clothing to escape to her bedroom as Mulder pulled his jeans back up his legs.

She could hear the young man reading the take-out order and Mulder counting out cash from his wallet. Mulder seemed to be unable to conduct most cash transactions without counting the bills to the person he was paying. It was endearing.

“Where’s the lady that called in the order?” the young man asked as Mulder handed him forty dollars. “There’s a pretty redhead that lives here, right?”

Scully stood inside her bathroom and listened to the conversation as she dressed quietly.

“She’s here,” Mulder said quickly.

“She’s hot," the delivery man said as though it was obvious. "You the boyfriend?"

“Yeah,” Mulder said quickly. “Why?”

“She’s _hot_ ,” the young man repeated.

“Thanks Melvin,” Mulder quipped and Scully heard the front door shut.

“My name is Ryan!” the young man called through the door.

When Scully came out of the bathroom, Mulder was putting his shirt on and he gave her a look.

“What?”

“Kids today,” Mulder said with a shake of his head.

“Oh yeah?” she asked as she approached the table and began to empty the containers of food.

“If things don’t work out between us, I think there’s a long line of delivery boys who have a hankering for Dana Scully,” he said as he got the plates out from the cabinets. “Did you know that?”

Scully shrugged. “Why? Are you jealous?”

The corners of Mulder’s mouth pushed down in a frown as he shook his head and Scully laughed.

“I think we meet way more women who are forward about you than men who come on to me,” she reminded him.

“I would say it’s a tie,” Mulder bartered as he dished out some fried rice. He opened one of the containers and breathed her name. “ _Scully_. You always get the spicy broccoli beef. Like you know what I like.”

She smiled a little. “If I don’t get the spicy broccoli beef, Mulder, you complain. Even though the spices give you heartburn.”

“Yeah but we’re at your house and you always have the pink stuff,” he said, referring to the Pepto Bismol she stocked because he ate spicy food and got heartburn.

She took two steps toward Mulder and kissed his cheek. “You’re such a guy sometimes.”

Mulder grinned at her. “You didn’t mind earlier.”

“You called me _Dana_ ,” she pointed out.

“No good?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I don’t mind it. It’s my name. I just… Don’t worry. I won’t start calling you Fox even if I’m about to scream into a pillow.”

The panic expression crossed his face again and he nodded. “I’ll try to do better next time around. You seemed to have a big one lingering outside not wanting to walk into the party.”

“I had a pretty good time regardless,” she said with a flush rising on her cheeks. “I guess I was still in my head.”

“Next time,” he promised and she believed him.

The ways he made good on his promises made her belly flip. _Hoo boy_.


	4. Vail

The mountains surrounding the I-70 were truly breathtaking with its snow-capped peaks. Frost was forming on the windows as their SUV plucked its way toward Vail. The sun had begun to set behind the mountains to the west and Mulder pushed his visor down to block the orange blaring sun as it attempted to give them the last few moments of daylight.

March in Colorado would be cool at night and tolerable for the daytimes. Before they left, Mulder had looked up average Vail temperatures for that time of year and insisted he and Scully pick up more long johns. Scully bartered for one pair more each before they left for the airport with the understanding they would get more if needed.

Scully glanced at the clock on the dashboard and noted the time. They had spent almost an hour procuring a rental vehicle from the Alamo and would be arriving at their rental property nearly ninety minutes after they anticipated.

Never mind that she had to suffer through four or five bad jokes and one mediocre one from Mulder about the name of the rental company, getting a car that suited the yuppy lifestyle of Mitchell and Sophie Robinson wasn’t as easy as she thought.

“Folks in these parts like a truck or something with a little more kick,” the rental agent said with a wink to Mulder.

He almost booked them a Ford F350 until Scully told him to tone it down.

“We’re making great time, Sophie,” Mulder said using her undercover name for the hundredth time that day. It was growing on her. “All things considered.”

“I don’t like that the sun is setting,” Scully admitted.

“You don’t like that the sun is setting, Mitchell,” Mulder prompted.

“Yes, Mitchell.”

“We need to be on top of this all the time, Scully,” he told her.

“Who?”

“Sophie,” Mulder corrected.

“This isn’t a sting operation, Mulder,” Scully said with a sigh as she pulled out the directions to their townhouse. “And we are a couple.”

“So, Sophie you think it will be easy to navigate through a small town as a married couple?” he asked her, emphasizing her undercover name.

“I don’t know, Mitchell…” she replied emphasizing his pseudonym. “We get mistaken for a married couple frequently.”

“I still think it would have been nice to be the Gunderson’s,” he said as the I-70 turned in to Vail with twinkling neighbourhood lights in the distance.

“That implies something about our physical bearing-”

“I would never imply you were anything more than curvy in all the ways I like,” he interrupted. “You got an ass that won’t quit and your work ethic is just-”

“Careful.”

“Admirable,” he finished with a slight inflection that implied he was asking rather than stating.

Mulder began humming the Buddy Knox tune again and Scully shook her head at him.

“We have to double back if we take Exit 176,” Scully told him as he hummed along.

He tapped at the side of his head with one finger as though the instructions were solidly in his mind.

“You know to take the fourth exit on Vail Road?” she asked and he nodded, continuing to hum the song. “Are you going to hum that song the entire trip?”

“The Indians claim he’s the missing link that fits in the gap of the evolution chain,” he sang. “You can make up your mind when you’ve heard the stories. Sasquatch is the story, Bigfoot is the name.”

“Chorus,” Scully prompted.

“You can ride from Canada to Northern California, All up and down the Cascade Range,” he sang. “Sing with me Scully.”

“Sophie,” she corrected.

“Sophie, sing with your husband!” he said reaching over the cup holders between them to squeeze her knee.

“Not until we’re trying to stay alive in the forest and keeping Bigfoot away will I sing for you,” she deadpanned but there was a smile in on her lips.

“I wonder if they sell this song on a CD anywhere in Vail,” Mulder mused.

To their right, they passed a string of billboards advertising sites and tourism opportunities for visitors of Vail. That’s when they saw it.

“Spot Bigfoot!” the billboard advertised with a cartoon couple in flannel and binoculars. “Tour the backwoods of White River National Forest and spot the missing link!”

“Scully, write that number down!” Mulder said excitedly.

She mimicked his earlier action by tapping her temple with one finger but took her pen out of her purse anyway.

“Did you get it?” he asked.

She sighed. “We’re really going to look for Bigfoot?”

“That’s part of this assignment, isn’t it?” he asked. “A creature such as the Sasquatch has been spotted in the northwestern part of the United States for almost a century and now it’s being accused of murdering six couples. If this thing is venturing out to this part of the country, I want to make sure that it’s not going to be taken down for something that goes against its nature.”

“We’ve seen creatures like this before that venture out of their comfort zone to protect their young or their territory,” Scully reminded him. “The Jersey Devil, the Mothmen of Florida.”

“Why attack couples?” he asked.

“I don’t suspect this is the work of a creature such as the Sasquatch. I think if anything, this is an individual who is targeting these couples and has a fetish about Bigfoot,” she began.

“A fetish?”

“Perhaps not sexual in nature however when couples are taken, one can only look to that sadistic side of a killer’s personality when investigating the murder of both sexes,” she recounted. “Isn’t that what you said in your profile notes to Monty Propps?”

“You really know how to flirt with a guy,” he teased and she laughed.

“Do you think Bigfoot is a suspect?”

Mulder shook his head slowly. “No, I think if there is such a creature in these woods, I want to find it and make sure it’s not entrapped for a murder it didn’t commit.”

They saw another advertisement for the Bigfoot Adventure Tours with a word bubble that called it kooky fun times with an exclamation point.

“Sophie and Mitchell Robinson might be into that kooky, campy shit.”

“I’m not any new age aficionado,” she warned him. “I’ll tell you that right now.”

“Too far of a reach for you?” he asked.

She shifted in her seat and turned the heater to low on the centre console. “It reminds me too much of Melissa. Channelling her wouldn’t feel right.”

He nodded. “Say no more.”

“I don’t have to be a skeptic,” she offered. “But I just don’t want to try to be her while we’re here.”

“I liked your sister,” Mulder said and she looked at him. “She really loved you and she wanted me to show you how I felt.”

“You felt?” she repeated.

“I think she could sense I cared about you, that I felt responsible and… I don’t know maybe she knew I was already a little bit in love with you then-”

“When I was abducted?”

“I think you scared the shit out of me,” he mused. “I know you scared the shit out of me. You were so damned consistent and insistent on being my friend. I think part of me channelled that into a romantic feeling.”

“I thought-”

“I know what I said before,” he replied as he confirmed earlier conversations about how they felt about each other. “But I think the seeds were there.”

“Romantic seeds?” she clarified with a smile.

“Yeah, I mean they sent this really attractive smart woman to distract me, spy for them and argue with me,” he said and laughed. “I don’t know how I kept my hands to myself.”

“You didn’t,” she reminded him.

“Ever in a bad way?” he asked.

Scully shook her head. “You’re always a gentleman, Mulder.”

He looked at her lovingly and she noted that he let the name switch pass. She was grateful for that.

“How did you keep your hands off of me all those years?” he asked as they turned right onto Big Horn Road.

“I touched you all the time!” she argued with a smile.

Mulder followed the road as it became South Frontage Road. “When?”

“You listed me as your doctor constantly,” she reminded him. “I took care of you during your high fever and paranoia then drove you to see Albert Holstein after I shot you.”

Mulder nodded slowly. “I feel like they’re not the same.”

“It wouldn’t have been professional of me as a doctor to do otherwise,” she replied quietly and looked at their directions. “We need to get to Gore Creek Drive.”

Mulder followed the signage that indicated to turn onto Vail Valley Drive and she could see him contemplating an Al Gore dig in his mind.

“I feel like you want to make a comment,” she said.

“I have a few ideas but nothing I can put my finger on,” he admitted with a smile.

They pulled into the parking stall in front of the townhouse and they both looked out the windshield to take in the exterior of the row houses. The houses had a modern fit and finish to the exterior. Off-white stucco with black accents and Spanish wrought iron bars around the bottom of each window suprised Scully. She assumed every accomodation would be a ski chalet with large A-line roofs and log cabin exteriors.

“Must be the Bigfoot burglary prevention system,” Mulder said as he nodded toward the spikes shaped in a flourish as they pointed out from the windows.

It looked intentional and beautiful against the black roofing. Every other house had a balcony off the front and the townhomes, except theirs, were lit up. Music could be heard echoing out of the house to the left and into their car.

“Still pretty lively for the end of the season,” Mulder noted.

“So, our suspect list is larger than we anticipated,” she replied with a sigh. “That’s nothing new. At least the accomodations are nice.”

“This isn’t exactly a private bungalow on the water,” Mulder said lightly.

It wasn’t a shack in the woods either. Across the street from them was a board shop and they were just a short walk from the main core of Vail. Tomorrow, Mulder and Scully would need to venture into town, visit the same tourist locations as the victims and try to talk to the locals in town about anything that could shed light on what happened.

“When did Greene say he could bring the case file by for us to look at?” Scully asked as she unfastened her seatbelt.

“We need to call him once we get settled in,” Mulder said. “He goes for a run through town in the morning. He said he can meet me at one of the coffee shops before he heads out.”

They exited the vehicle and Mulder pulled the keys for the rental property that Bristol and Martinez had left for them at the Denver airport under the pseudonyms.

After three trips from their SUV, Mulder unlocked the front door and set their bags in the living room. A basket of tourist attractions sat on the coffee table, business cards for local shops and a map to the downtown Vail area.

The walls were adorned with modern wooden panels, impersonal photographs of the area and a large throw rug coverd the oak hardwood floor. Everything in the front room was light and open, with two mismatched armchairs at the edge of the living room and a deep cushion couch against the kitchen counter. It wasn’t a grand amount of space but it was luxurious and cozy.

Beyond the living room was a newly renovated kitchen with dark granite countertops and modern stainless fixtures such as a gas range stove, large refrigerator and deep sink in the island. Across from the kitchen and past the stairs was a nook with deep red walls, red tartan bench seating and dark cabinets for storage.

It really was a beautiful cabin and under any other circumstances, she might appreciate the location along with the grandeur of the space. Except, twelve people had died and this wasn’t a romantic getaway with her boyfriend.

“You want to get right into it?” she asked as they both stopped to remove their shoes.

Mulder slipped his off as she did the same. “You ready?”

“You want to do it in here?” she asked.

He looked past the living room toward the kitchen. “Kitchen. Spice it up.”

Scully brought her suitcase with undergarments inside and set it on the kitchen counter. She unzipped the case and pulled out the files from underneath the clothing meant to disguise the contents.

“Let’s get it on,” she quipped as she dropped the stack of case files into his arms.

Mulder laughed as she pulled out her notebooks and pens. “This is a nice place.”

“It’s no Kent Island,” she said quietly as she sat next to him.

“But it’s not bad,” he countered.

“Nothing will ever be as magical as that place,” she sighed as she looked around the main floor. “This place might come second.”

She caught the mischievous gleam in his eyes and she let out a long breath. Her stomach sang a small song of desire for a meal and she gave Mulder a look. “We should order food too.”

Mulder crossed the small space to the kitchen and found a stack of take out menus. He held up one with glee. “Garfinkels! Scully- uh Sophie, we gotta order from here!”

Half the reason they ordered from certain places was the menu but if Mulder could find a place that had a pun in the name, he would insist on that place over everything else.

“They have burgers and salads!” he read with an enthusiasm he usually held for discussing little grey men. “Let’s do Garfinkels!”

Scully held her hand out to the menu and he brought it over to her. “Get me a salad and a turkey BLT.”

“I’m going in deep, Sophie. I’m getting the Bison Burger,” he announced before he picked up the phone to dial.

Scully gave him a thumbs up and focused back on the file in front of her. If this really was a case about Bigfoot, she wanted to know everything she could about the subject. Mulder had brought four related X-files cases that took place across the Pacific Northwest. She needed a map to plot where the murders took place and left the kitchen to find one from the visitor information stack of pamphlets.

As she was looking through the options of maps, she felt a presence and looked up to the front door. At the window along the doorframe, a pair of eyes were looking in at her.

“Mitchell!” she called to Mulder.

Mulder approached behind her and touched her shoulder before he made his way to the door. The figure at the door backed up as the door opened.

“You made it,” Deputy Greene said.

“What are you doing here?” Mulder asked quietly.

Anyone to the immediate left or right of their residence would be able to hear and witness the interaction. The lack of privacy at their location would be a problem moving forward.

“I’m on patrol,” Greene said, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb to his black SUV with the Eagle County Sheriff’s logo on it. “I saw you folks drive in. Going a little over the speed limit.”

“Is this my warning, Deputy?” Mulder asked.

“We can call it that,” Greene said.

“While you’re here, what’s a good running route around town? I was thinking of going out tomorrow morning,” Mulder asked as a way to save face for their cover.

“There’s a great coffee shop up Gore Creek Drive. They have running routes listed there,” the deputy said with a forced tone that anyone might see through as acting. “Up the Creek.”

“Where?”

“That’s the name of the shop,” Greene clarified.

Mulder’s face lit up and he grinned at Scully. “Great.”

“It’s just north, past Bridge Street,” Greene said and he stepped back from the doorway. He touched the brim of his Stetson. “Have a good evening.”

Mulder closed the door and gave Scully a wide-eyed look. “That was a little Chuck Bronson, right?”

Scully nodded in agreement as Mulder pulled on his jacket. “Are you going to pick up our food?”

He nodded and crossed the space between them to kiss her goodbye. “One for our cover.”

Scully squeezed the lapel of his coat as he pulled away and looked at him knowingly.

He kissed her again. “One for me.”

He scooped up the car keys from the kitchen counter and gave her a wave over his shoulder. “Be back in twenty.”

Scully touched her fingers to her lips and smiled to herself. Undercover Mulder was a lot less irritating this time around.

  
***

The main streets of Vail were modelled after European ski towns and partially pedestrianized. What the city lacked for driving freedom, it made up for with a free shuttle bus for all residents to utilize. It was the town’s way of keeping carbon emissions low and traffic at a minimum.

While Mulder did a five-mile loop around Vail and picked up the case file from Deputy Greene, Scully ventured out to Safeway for groceries. Dressed in black leggings, a navy blue down jacket and scoop neck cream sweater, she felt like she fit right in among the patrons when she purchased her morning coffee. Scully held her green and white labelled paper cup with her left hand and the wedding ring she wasn’t accustomed to sparkled in the daylight outside the coffee shop.

The nutmeg spice she put on top of her latte tickled her nose as she took a slow sip from the small opening on the lid.

“Morning!” a couple greeted her as they walked by the coffee kiosk toward the bakery.

“Good morning,” she replied and put on a cheerful smile. Scully looked over her shoulder to the barista who prepared her drink. “Excuse me, can you help?”

“Everything all right with your order?” the young man asked as he foamed more milk at the steaming station.

“Yes it’s great, thank you,” she assured him. “I’m here with my husband for a couple of weeks. I’m surprised it’s so busy.”

“Ski season here is until end of April,” the young man replied. “Still snow on the ground out there so there’s going to be fresh powder up the peak.”

Scully nodded. “I’m not much of a skier.”

“There’s a great snowshoe trail here,” he offered. “Spas, ski biking and these two guys just added in a Bigfoot tour around here.”

“Have you done it?” she asked lightly.

“Bigfoot?” he repeated. “If I’m going to spot a Sasquatch, it’s not going to be when I’m with a tour guide.”

“Do you think it might be around here?” she clarified.

The young man shrugged. “Something ate those people.”

“Ate?” she repeated.

The barista’s cheeks flushed and he shook his head. “Never mind. The Bigfoot tour is a hoax but if you want to spend $185 bucks on getting your chain yanked, those guys will be the ones to do it for you.”

Scully nodded again and took another sip of her drink. “Thanks.”

“I gotta say, you don’t seem like the type to do that,” he told her.

She shrugged. “Kooky campy fun times! Who wouldn’t like that?”

The barista laughed and she nodded in thanks for his time. She dug out the list she made for groceries and made her way through the store. Grocery shopping without Mulder took a lot less time since he wasn’t there to try to talk her into bad snacks to have around the house. She picked up a few that he’d like including sunflower seeds, brownie mix and ice cream. Little known fact about Fox Mulder, that while he appreciated the salt of a sunflower seed, he also had a sweet tooth.

Her phone rang as her groceries were being scanned and she held onto Sophie Robinson’s shiny American Express.

“Hello?” she answered and realized how strange it was for her to not answer a phone using her last name.

“Hey Honeybunch, how’s the shopping?” Mulder’s voice came through the line. She could hear the shower going in the background and the television playing loudly. “Find anything good?”

“Sure did, Poopyhead,” she retorted and the cashier smiled at Scully. “Just paying and heading back.”

“Did you veer off the list at all?” he asked.

Scully handed her credit card to the cashier. “Maybe.”

“Nice,” he encouraged. “Hurry back. I need someone to wash my back.”

Scully hit end on her phone and tucked it back into the purse she was trying to grow accustomed to carrying.

“Newlyweds?” the cashier asked.

Scully looked up at the woman who she guessed was about her age. “No, just taking a break from work.”

The woman noticed the cut on her lip and the yellowish bruise around Scully’s forehead. “Oh, I see.”

“I’m a doctor in D.C. and I had an altercation with an irate patient,” she explained as she gestured to the cut. It didn’t sound quite like a lie when she said it. She tucked the card back into her wallet. “My husband thought it would be a good idea to get away for a few days.”

“Good man,” the woman noted and she nodded in agreement. The woman handed Scully her credit card slip and she signed it with the pseudonym S Robinson. “Well, I hope you have a great stay here. Vail is just beautiful, even at the end of the season. Just stay away from any tours of the woods.”

That comment put up a red flag in her mind. Scully took her credit card back from the cashier and smiled again. “Thank you.”

  
***

The water pressure and stream from the shower head in the master suite of the townhouse was just enough for two bodies. Mulder used the soap on his hands to pull at her flesh as she held onto the bar on the wall for support. His mouth could do amazing things and she was not about to stop him as he knelt in front of her to taste her sex.

She felt his tongue push against her folds as he aided her feet to spread wider in the shower. She heard the sound of his skin bumping along the floor and he moaned as a rush of her excitement met his tongue. She moaned as his hand moved between her thighs and his thumb pushed up inside her tight walls. His tongue began to dart in and out between her lips until it started a small rhythm against her clit that shot sparks through her body.

“Oh, Jesus,” she moaned.

The sound of his breath against her pelvic bone and the ring on her finger grinding against the bar she was holding onto was competing with the water spraying against Mulder’s back. He put her left leg up on the side of the tub to open her to him completely and she felt exposed and safe at the same time.

They had abstained last night from being together. A few kisses had turned fervent but Scully had to pull away twice to yawn. Mulder pressed his desire into her backside and spooned her as they fell into a deep sleep quickly.

No one was too tired this Tuesday morning with Mulder high on the endorphins from the mountain air and the wounds on her body healing nicely. Thursday felt like such a long ways away and she could push all the evils of Donnie Pfaster far from her mind as she allowed Mulder to fuck her with his mouth.

Such delights and honest distractions from the work they needed to get to and a case pending. Undercover work had different working hours and if she really had to explain it, she missed how he did this.

Scully’s free hand moved into Mulder’s slick hair and held his face as she ground against his tongue. He skillfully found the desired pressure she longed for and she felt the release of needed endorphins approaching.

The steam surrounded them from the heat of the water and she could see his head moving in purposeful actions. The stubble on his cheeks from not shaving again felt like sandpaper on her skin and she felt alive with the small spasms as the bristles on his face rubbed against her thighs. It heightened the experience of his tongue delving into her folds as his thumb flexed inside.

The water splashed against the flat plains of her belly and she retracted her hand from Mulder’s hair to grab her own breast. They ached and longed for his mouth but the logical side of her brain knew he couldn’t be in two places at once.

Mulder’s thumb retracted from inside of her. He pushed two long fingers in and her eyes flew open.

“Oh god!” she cried out. “Yes!”

Mulder’s fingers began pumping in and out as his tongue flattened and he moaned in approval against her sex. He was so patient to do this at any hour of any day while her orgasm could suppress itself as the worries of her psyche crept into the way.

Today the woes of Dana Scully were far away and she felt herself teetering on the precipice of her crevasse into ecstasy.

“Don’t stop!” she cried out as she felt herself clench around his fingers. Her nerves began to fire off as the small fissures of her release trembled up her body and down her toes as the orgasm waves washed over her. “Don’t… please don’t stop!”

Mulder would be the first person to point out he wasn’t going to stop but she couldn’t help herself. She could recall the many times he told her how much he liked it when she couldn’t restrain anything as she was taken over by passion and lost all control. She knew he liked to see her writhing on the mattress or under his skilled tongue because, of all the ways he’s seen her lose control, sex was the best one.

She had flushed when he told her that but she had to admit that watching Mulder’s eyes close in rapture as she climbed over his face and took his cock in her mouth was something to behold. She got his point completely.

“Oh! Oh my god!” she cried out again and felt a rush from deep inside her.

Suddenly, the feeling of his tongue on her burned and she slid her right hand from his hair to intercept his face and her swollen lips.

“Stop?” he guessed.

She nodded. “Yeah.”

Mulder used the back of his hand to wipe at his chin. Putting his hand just below hers on the bar on the wall, he stood up slowly. He looked predatory and his eyes were sparkling with desire.

“Turn around,” he said softly but the authority in his voice was there.

He used that authority with her at times when he wanted her to get on the bed or come closer before his hands grabbed her ankles to pull her toward him. She liked this side of Mulder who took control and held her tightly as he found his release. She fell in love with all sides of him and she saw mostly that side of him that treated her like a woman who would only be worshipped and was his equal in all sense of the word. Occasionally, when he was in the mood, he pushed her into a wall and fucked her rather than making love.

Sometimes she wanted something more from him than a gentle hand or a tender kiss. It was their form of escapism as far as they could hide from the things they saw over the years.

Right now, he was going to be the guy who utilized her body for the pleasures it could bring his. With the water pouring down her back and his fingers pinching at her nipples, she realized she didn’t mind it one bit. He pulled her towards him and their mouths met as the stream of water hit her body.

He kissed her long, deep and purposefully. She could taste herself on his tongue and the pumpkin scones he was eating in the kitchen when she returned with groceries. He had been standing in his boxer shorts, drinking his take out coffee he picked up on his way back from his run. He didn’t need to insist that they leave the dry items on the counter.

In the shower, as his kisses grew more insistent, his pelvis rocked against hers with an obvious need. Scully broke the kiss and looked at him in wonder before she turned her back to Mulder and clutched the bar. He kissed the top of her shoulder and put her foot on the edge of the tub once again.

Mulder’s hand covered Scully’s on the bar on the wall as he used his other hand to guide himself inside. His fingers moved to her hip and gripped them tightly as he tilted her pelvis toward him and his cock reached the hilt.

“I can’t be gentle this morning, Scully,” he whispered as he pulled back to thrust up harshly. His hips repeated the action a few times and his eyes searched hers as she looked over her shoulder to see his guilt-ridden face. “Say it’s okay.”

“It’s okay, Mulder,” she assured him as he rocked his pelvis against hers. “I want it like this, too.”

His eyes closed at her absolution of his desires and he took her free hand and placed it at her sex. “Touch yourself.”

She obliged as the pad of her middle finger pushed between her folds. Using the slickness of the water and her arousal, she began to massage her clit in the same pattern Mulder had used with his tongue.

Her arousal heightened as he continued to pump in and out of her. His breath was hot on her ear and his chest was pressed into her back. In all the ways she worried this relationship might overwhelm her life, and it had, she welcomed it during times of passion and ire.

The tip of her finger brushed against his cock as he pumped in and out of her and he groaned in her ear.

“I love that I can feel you do that,” he growled in her ear. “If I can’t see it, I want to feel you doing it.”

Her walls flexed and the fire inside of her sparked as the distress of her undoing was about to take over. The next orgasm would hit her quickly.

Mulder’s teeth grazed her shoulder and he bit down gently, just hard enough to send the sparks of pleasure through her system from the small amount of pain.

“Yes,” she whispered and her head fell back against his shoulder.

His breathing was laboured and she could tell he was close. Her mind jumped to a tangent of their times together that had surprised her. She jumped to how it felt when he kissed her in the hotel room they had been forced to share when this all began. She thought about when she went down on him in a train car on their way back from a case and making so much noise it disturbed other passengers. She thought about all the ways he had made her quake on Kent Island.

His hips slammed into her at a more quick and uneven pace. In future conferences of their bodies, she would think of him fucking her in this corner tub and shower unit.

Her mind needed the tangents of his body against hers to find her release and it was within her grasp. She moved her finger faster against her swollen sex and she suddenly felt herself screaming his name as his dick pounded into her.

“ _God_!” she cried out. “Oh god!”

Mulder pushed into her one final time and she felt him pulsating as he emptied inside of her.

They were breathing heavily and the only other sound she could hear was the shrill ring from her cell phone twenty feet away. Neither of them said anything as he remained inside her. She could feel her thigh shaking from its crooked position propped up on the edge of the tub.

“The phone,” she whispered eventually.

“What?” he asked.

“The phone,” she said again.

Mulder kissed her cheek and pulled out of her. “They can call back.”

She took her foot off the edge of the tub and looked down as his seed washed down her leg.

Mulder picked up the soap and used a washcloth to clean off her legs. He was so much more tender than when he was just inside of her and perhaps that was his way of paying penance for such harsh actions. Scully had assured him it was okay at the time and she still felt that way.

When he stood up, he kissed her lips softly.

“Thank-you,” she said with a smile she could feel was showing her gums. “I should really check that.”

Mulder nodded. “I’ll be right out.”

She used her towel to dry off and then wrapped her robe around her frame. The phone had stopped ringing but just as Mulder said, they called back.

“Hello?” she answered as she put her phone up to her ear.

“Agent Scully,” Bristol greeted. “We called earlier and couldn’t reach you.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I was in the shower.”

“We have some information for you and Agent Mulder,” Bristol told her. “There’s a spa where all the victims went to. We think there could be a connection but we’re not getting anything from the girls there. We need Agent Mulder to meet us at the library in thirty minutes.”

Mulder exited the bathroom and joined her in the master bedroom as he wrapped his towel around his waist.

“Just a second,” Scully said and handed her phone to Mulder.

“Yeah?” Mulder said putting the phone up to his ear.

Scully could hear Bristol explaining something to Mulder about a briefcase.

“Sure, yeah sorry I was just in the shower,” Mulder said and Scully waved her hands frantically at him. “What?”

“ _I said that_ ,” she mouthed and panic crossed his face immediately.

“Library?” he recovered quickly. “I’ll bring the file Greene gave me.” There was a pause. “Yeah. I'll tell her. Bye.”

Mulder handed Scully her phone and smiled sheepishly. “There’s more than one shower here.”

“Just don’t smile like you just got lucky when you meet up with them,” Scully warned.

Mulder laughed. “Okay, Mrs. Robinson. I’ll try my best.”

“I’m serious,” she said. “You have a just fucked look.”

“Speak for yourself.” He turned her toward the mirror hanging on the wall and Scully blushed to see herself. There were marks from Mulder’s mouth along her neck and collarbone while her lips were swollen. Her eyes were heavy lidded and her hair was beginning to curl. “At least it will only help our cover.”

Scully sat down on the bed and groaned. She hated when he was right about this kind of thing too.

“Bristol said there's an opening at the spa this afternoon,” Mulder called to her. "You better get those little legs moving."

 


	5. Keeping their Cover

Mulder walked Scully to the spa Bristol and Martinez suggested she visit while holding her gloved hand in his. He swung their arms slightly in a carefree manner with an idiotic grin on his face.

Folks in the street were smiling and waving to them, occasionally saying hi and asking if they needed directions. Mulder got to practice his cover story that he was on his way to the library for some research while his lovely wife Sophie visited a few of the spas. Everyone beamed at them, gave them the same directions to the library and a few of the best spas in Vail then wished them on their way.

“Everyone is so friendly,” Mulder noted with a smile as he waved to another couple walking hand in hand.

“Hard to believe six couples on vacation here have died and the FBI hit a roadblock with a lack of information being forthcoming,” Scully retorted as she tried to get their arms to stop swinging and Mulder scoffed. His fingers squeezed hers through their gloves. “Maybe this is how they compensate for allowing people to fall victim to an unknown killer.”

“Or known, Sophie,” Mulder said with an emphasis on her undercover name. “Maybe the community is protecting someone or something.”

“Something? Really Mitchell?” she asked with the same skeptical tone she reserved for a slideshow of blurry teeth. “Something?”

Mulder put his arms around Scully’s waist and pulled her to his chest. He looked down at her with a smug smile and kissed the top of her head. “My favourite part about this assignment is I can be as handsy as I want to be in public.”

Scully fought a smile. “Me too.”

She put her hands around his waist and slipped her hands into the back pockets of his jeans. She gave his backside a squeeze and his face lit up.

“Mrs. Robinson,” he said in awe and they laughed.

Scully stood up on her toes and Mulder took the hint to lean down to kiss her lips.

“Definitely not a maneuver you could pull on the streets of D.C.,” he said with a sly smile and she grinned as she lowered her heels. “You’re taking some serious liberties here.”

“Making up for Arcadia,” she said with shrug.

Mulder grimaced. “You were pretty mad at me.”

“I think I can admit that I was holding onto a slight grudge,” she conceded quietly.

“I will admit I was kind of an asshole when we got back from Antarctica and weren’t reinstated to the X-Files,” he said with a slight laugh and her eyebrows shot up. “ _More_ than kind of?”

Scully stood up on her toes and kissed him again. “A little more.”

“I’m trying to make up for it now,” he told her and she nodded.

He kissed her again and she let him since it felt so good to be publicly affectionate as part of their cover. Except it was just them as a couple, touching, flirting and laughing as anyone might be expected to.

“Can you do me a favour?” she asked him as she lowered her heels.

“Anything. I’ll even fake marry you if you want,” he said as he misquoted a line from the Big Chill.

They had watched it over the weekend in Scully’s government issued hotel room last weekend and she grinned at him.

“Can you not put the dishwasher on until it’s totally full?” she asked him. “I had to empty four plates and three glasses. It’s a waste.”

Mulder made a face. “ _Really_?”

“It’s a waste of water,” she repeated.

“But then the food gets dried on and crusty on the plates,” he said.

“That’s why you wash the dishes before you put them in the dishwasher,” she told him and he rolled his eyes. “Mitchell, please?”

“Why do you wash the dishes before you put them in the dishwasher?” he asked.

“So you don’t run a half-empty dishwasher,” she countered.

“Half-full!” he said.

Scully gave his backside another squeeze. “I’m not negotiating on this.”

Mulder let out a sigh. “ _Okay_ , but that seems redundant.”

She pulled her hands out of the back of his jeans and retracted herself from his grasp. “This is my stop.”

Mulder looked above her head to see the awning outside the Arrabelle at Vail Square. “This place is really giving its all toward looking like a European ski village.”

“Did you ever travel out of England during your Oxford days?” she asked as she tugged on the zipper of her jacket.

Mulder nodded. “Once, I went to The Hague.”

She couldn’t figure out if it was a romantic trip with someone or somewhere he went on a lark. “How’s your Dutch?”

Mulder shook his head and stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets, bouncing a little to get warm. “You know, I did pretty badly there. We were trying to get to Amsterdam.”

That would have been a lark trip with friends, back when Mulder attempted social norms such as friends.

Scully laughed. “Okay, I’m going inside. I’ll see you later.”

“Call me when you’re done,” he said and kissed her cheek. Scully grabbed at his jacket lapel and he kissed her on the lips. “One for me.”

She smiled at him and watched him walk down Lionshead Place back toward the library drive before she tucked inside.

The interior of the Arrabelle was the epitome of a European ski lodge with the exposed beams, brick and deep couches inviting guests to sit and relax. Oversized fireplaces warmed the sitting areas and employees in golden mustard turtlenecks stood with brightly smiling faces.

“Welcome to the Arrabelle,” a young man in a similar coloured gold mustard jacket greeted Scully. “Can I help you?”

“I’m looking for the spa,” she said with an unsure tone.

“Ah, here for a little pampering,” the young man noted with an overly cheerful tone. “Just through the lobby and down that hallway will take you to your awaited bliss.”

She smiled politely and followed the young man’s directions toward the spa. It was opulent and dripping with pretentious grandeur but the indulgent side of Scully appreciated what this kind of gratification a trip to Vail would offer people. People other than Mulder and Scully, who’s lives were overtaken by a global conspiracy about the existence of extraterrestrials and the plot to create a hybrid alien race.

He had made the attempt for them to get away for a weekend and it was just the thing they needed to solidify what was turning out to be a very promising romantic relationship.

Maybe if they were different people and Mulder didn’t see Bigfoot in blurry videos, they might be able to appreciate such a trip.

Scully had the names of the previous victims memorized and questions to ask the women who worked at the spa. The purpose of this trip, while having a pedicure and manicure, was to ask about things to do in the area, wilderness adventures and find any information as to how six couples could be murdered without much help from the local community.

By retracing the steps and actions of the victims, the assumption was they might encounter the predator all twelve people had fallen prey to. With the skills and training they had been given through the years, they were likely to be able to thwart the murderer and uncover the alleged Bigfoot or person trying to mask their crimes as a simian.

It sounded ludicrous in her mind, let alone something on a case report, and yet the last seven years of her life were exactly that.

Last year Scully and Mulder met Karin Berquist, a woman who specialized in the behaviours of canid animals. While simian and canines weren’t similar in behaviours, Scully tried to argue that animals are animals. Karin had tried to enlighten them both before her untimely death that the primitive nature of an animal wouldn’t allow for any heinous activity such as the brutal murder that brought them to Vail.

Basic human nature was to protect itself as a species and to allow a murder to continue to take place confused Scully. Was the community stonewalling the police investigation because the victims were tourists and not locals?

“Welcome to RockResorts Spa and Wellness Centre,” greeted a young woman in a dark grey linen uniform. Julie was stitched into her shirt in the same golden mustard thread used on the jackets and turtlenecks by the staff in the lobby. “How can I help you?”

“My name is Sophie Robinson,” she introduced herself to the petite brunette. “I have an appointment for a manicure and pedicure.”

“If you’d like to take off your boots and socks,” Julie said as she checked her sheet. “Lisa is just finishing with another guest. Please take a seat over there, she’ll be right with you.”

Julie pointed with a pen toward the chairs off to the right and Scully nodded.

“I can take your coat,” she offered and Scully shed her jacket.

Julie hung it on a wooden hanger before depositing it inside a closet hidden by the wall panelling. Scully’s body shivered as she adjusted to the temperature in the room as she took off her boots and socks. She tucked them in her purse next to her gun and set the oversized handbag on the chair next to her. The young woman produced a mop to clean up any water in the front area and returned to her spot behind her desk.

“Can I get you a sparkling water or some green tea, Mrs. Robinson?” the young woman offered and Scully shook her head. “Lisa will be just another minute.”

“Has this place been busy recently?” Scully asked feeling awkward at the forced small talk.

The place she went to in Georgetown to get her nails done was run by small Vietnamese women who loved Scully’s hair and called her “little FBI lady.” They didn’t ask about her work but they called Mulder her husband even though Scully said he wasn’t. Mulder never corrected them. They wouldn’t charge her for switching her appointments at the last minute and she could drop by on her lunch breaks if she needed to.

This was a different kind of place in a town with predominantly caucasian residents and guests. This wasn’t exactly the time to comment on the make up of the upper middle class in the United States, however, she understood it was something she often forgot about while living in the cultural mix of Washington, D.C. Through their work on the X-Files, while they met so many different people, the paranormal didn’t profile to a specific group. They had looked at the poor and disenfranchised to the wealthy and ignorant all seemed to share the same attitude about the federal government.

“There are _a lot_ of conferences going on in Vail right now,” Julie told Scully knowingly. “Companies and lobbyists meeting, tech companies deciding what direction to go in…”

“You sound like you’ve heard a lot of pitches,” Scully noted.

“I’ve heard a lot of secondhand descriptions,” Julie replied with a shrug. “We’ve got a lot of the wives or uh girlfriends coming around usually this time of year. Are you here on business?”

“No,” Scully answered immediately. “My husband thought a getaway would be a good idea after an altercation with one of my patients.”

The young woman covered her mouth. “That sounds terrible.”

Scully smiled tightly. “It’s fine. It can happen in emergency rooms.”

“You’re a nurse?” the young woman asked. “Doctor?”

“I’m a medical doctor,” Scully answered. “We got here Monday and we’re looking to unwind for a week or two.”

Julie opened her mouth to say something but another woman entered the lobby area dressed in a long white tunic and grey pants. She looked to be about thirty with a slim build and a blunt blonde hair cut.

“Mrs. Robinson?”

Scully realized that was her and stood up. “Hello.”

“You should say _Doctor_ Robinson,” Julie teased Scully and Lisa looked confused.

“Mrs. Robinson or um, Sophie is fine,” Scully told them.

“I’m Lisa. I’ll be handling your RockResort spa experience,” she introduced herself and they shook hands.

Lisa led Scully toward a small private room where a pedicure and manicure station were situated. Low, tranquil music with a Spanish guitar, wind instruments and low beats were playing from a speaker overhead.

“The place I usually go to has everyone out in the open,” Scully said honestly as she set her purse on the chair at the corner of the room. She zipped the top closed and climbed into the pedicure chair. “This is a different experience.”

“These rooms can be converted into a massage room also,” Lisa explained.

Scully rolled up her pant legs and watched as Lisa filled the basin at the foot of the chair with warm water then added a spoonful of the salts and soaps that softened the callouses on her heels. She loved those little salt beads and all the magic they did.

“How’s the temperature?” Lisa asked as she held her hand against the stream and Scully dipped her feet in the pool.

“Perfect,” she replied and it was the truth.

She liked her showers and baths to run a little hot as to make her hurt before her body adjusted. Much like the way it felt when Mulder first pushed into her body, it hurt for a small second before it felt good and then it felt like everything she wanted it to.

“Are we doing a colour?” Lisa asked as she set up a few things around her.

Callus and corn removers, wooden manicure sticks, nail files, buffers and blocks with clippers and the small tools all were brought over in a little basket. She laid them out next to her as she sat on a rolling stool to perform her work.

“What red colours do you have?” Scully asked because maybe Sophie Robinson, M.D., with her yellow alligator skin wallet liked red nail polish on her toes.

Outside of Donnie Pfaster attempting to sully this ritual she relied on as a form of personal grooming, she appreciated the relaxation it forced her to take. She could enjoy this now in a space that was far from the clutches of a dead man who would try to invade her nightmares posthumously.

Lisa held up four different reds that looked similar, some burgundy and magenta. Scully chose Jungle Red, since they were there in Vail for a trip to the great outdoors. Also, it was the furthest thing she normally picked for herself and therefore, she rationalized could only aid in her cover like Mulder’s beard.

Secretly, Scully had always appreciated Mulder unshaven. A five o’clock shadow or the unshaven state he would let himself get to on weekends always made him look a little more dangerous, like the bad boy her sister warned her about. The scratch from his beard against her skin was harder to get used to but the way it felt against her skin elsewhere from her face was worth it.

“Can I bring you a sparkling water or a green tea?” Lisa offered as the soaking process began.

“Do you have still water?” she asked.

“It has cucumber slices in it,” Lisa told her and Scully nodded that was fine.

Looking around the small room as her feet soaked in the attached basin and Lisa was absent from the room, Scully wondered why Bristol and Martinez asked her to come here. Knowing she needed to search the room without searching the room, she felt inside the chair for anything. It was a stretch but she had to examine every area inside the spa if Lisa wasn’t going to provide much information.

She found a bundle of receipts stuffed inside the cushion of the chair. Before she could discover if they would be useful, she heard the door handle on the room jiggle so she stuffed them in the side of her bra through the neck of her sweater.

Lisa returned with a bottle of Arrowhead water and sat on the small stool at Scully’s feet. “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” Scully answered.

Through the years in the FBI, Scully had spent over three hundred hours in cars, vans, abandoned buildings on surveillance. She had camped in dusty cabins, slept in threadbare carpeted hotels and gone days without a proper nights rest in the search for the truth. As Lisa used the pumice stone on Scully’s heels, she did not feel one ounce of guilt for this assignment. She could very well be running through the snowy woods of Vail in the next few days and be caught without food or water - such as their cases tended to go. If history was going to repeat itself, Scully was going to appreciate every single moment of this pampering package.

As Scully’s toenails dried, Lisa cleaned out the basin at her feet, covering it with a decorated wooden lid before setting up her station adjacent to the pedicure stand.

So far, all Scully had learned about Lisa was that she was from Vail, took a course in Denver to be an esthetician and moved back here five years ago. She had a fiancé for the last four years who had yet to set a wedding date and they had no children together. Scully looked down to Lisa’s plain gold band and then to the sparkling diamond she had on her own finger.

“So what kinds of things are you looking to get into while you’re here?” Lisa asked as she placed Scully’s hands in the nail trays to soften her cuticles. “Are you going to head up the mountain?”

“I’m not sure,” Scully started. “Eat good food, tour the city and enjoy the quiet away from Washington, I think was all we had planned.”

“How long did you say you were going to be here for?” Lisa asked as she picked up a pair of nail clippers.

“One or two weeks,” Scully answered. “We haven’t really picked a date of return. I have some time off coming and my husband’s schedule is flexible.”

Mulder had suggested giving that cover story to anyone who asked so they might appear more appealing to potential killers. He told them they were trying to dangle themselves as bait in the most innocent way possible.

“My husband works for a think tank in D.C. and he’ll probably want to unwind with something ridiculous,” Scully told Lisa. In hopes of catching a reaction, Scully looked up from the work Lisa was doing on her fingernails to study her face. “Any recommendations?”

Lisa pushed her lips together and the brunette shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll ask around.”

Lisa’s less than overtly friendly demeanour and wary glances were bringing up red flags. Her less than enthusiastic and knowledgeable nature was unlike the other attendants. Everyone she had met so far was happy to suggest places to visit, restaurants and activities. Scully merely nodded and they spent the rest of the time discussing the weather in Vail compared to the weather in D.C.

When the red varnish was dried and Lisa was tidying up, Scully decided she needed to come back to the spa to get more information from the esthetician. There was something Lisa was withholding, even if it was just the cause of the murders of those twelve people.

“Do you have any openings tomorrow?” Scully asked as she sat with her hands under the nail dryer.

“I think I have an hour or two tomorrow afternoon,” Lisa said. “You want to come back and get another nail colour?”

“I was thinking of getting the ‘Embodiment’ package,” Scully mentioned casually and Lisa’s face perked up.

It was an expensive package that offered body scrub, waxing, massage and facial and places such as RockResorts gave each esthetician a cut of the cost.

“I am sure I can squeeze you in for that,” Lisa said excitedly and Scully noted that was the most animated she had seen the woman in the hour and a half she had been there. Lisa looked down at Scully’s feet which were inside a pair of flimsy hotel-provided flip flops. “You going to be okay hanging out for another hour?”

Scully nodded and said she could get a coffee at the resort lobby if she needed to.

When the women were processing the payment for Scully’s nails, Mulder appeared through the doors of the spa.

“Hi honey,” he said in a saccharine tone that she wanted to laugh at but couldn’t. He was holding her jacket in one hand with her boots sitting by his briefcase at the door. “All set?”

“I thought I was going to call,” she said as he leaned down to kiss her cheek. Mulder shrugged. She looked down at her toes. “I have to wait for a bit before I put my shoes back on.”

Mulder smiled and she could tell he wanted to say something but he couldn’t. “We can get a coffee if you want?”

“Sure,” she said as she signed the receipt for her manicure and pedicure. “Thanks again.”

Mulder helped her on with her jacket and carried her boots and briefcase out of the way.

“ _Oooh_ Sophie, is that jungle red?” Mulder teased as they walked out of the spa.

“Maybe,” she replied coyly.

“You know what I like,” he said ala the Big Bopper and she couldn’t help but laugh.

  
***

The notes from Mulder’s meeting with Bristol and Martinez were laid out in front of them on the table. He left the crime scene photos and case file tucked away in the leather attache case at their feet. His notes were detailed and thorough, however in his own shorthand that Scully had learned over the course of their working relationship.

“What did you find out while you were suffering through the pampering hands of Leela?” Mulder asked.

“Lisa,” Scully corrected. “And I think there’s something those women know they aren’t sharing.”

“Well Sophie, hopefully your full Embellishment-”

“Embodiment,” she corrected again.

“Embodiment package gets Leela talking,” he mused as he looked over his notes.

“Lisa,” she corrected.

“Whatever,” he shrugged.

“Potential sources appreciate when you call them by the right name,” Scully mumbled before she took a sip of her latte. There was a hint of caramel in the hot milk and coffee concoction and she decided she liked it. “Anyway… Mitchell, what did Bristol and Martinez reveal at the library?”

“This was Greene’s cousin,” Mulder reported. “From Denver, married seven years and going through the typical aches and pains of marriage at that point. Debt, deciding to have kids or not, fighting over dishwasher fullness when it’s really about something else-”

“When I said earlier-”

“I know. Don’t worry, I accept a comment about the dishwasher can be just that,” Mulder said calmly. “Anyway, they were having some issues. Greene suggested they come to Vail to enjoy the sights, relax, pamper themselves and get some R&R. They both work for the city of Denver.”

“So what happened?” she asked and took another sip of her latte.

“They checked in with Greene a few times over the first week they were here,” Mulder told them. “They were booked for a ten day trip.”

“And?” Scully asked as she was used to Mulder dangling information and clues in front of her.

“They told Greene they were going to do a sightseeing tour the day before they left and never made it back to Denver,” he said.

“Did they tell Greene what sightseeing tour they were going to do?” Scully asked knowing there was winter horseback riding, mountain tours that took people around the area and the Bigfoot tour they had seen promoted.

“Bigfoot,” Mulder said excitedly.

“We’re going to look for Bigfoot,” Scully sighed.

“In the great outdoors,” he said as a continuation of her thought. “Isn’t it great, Sophie?”

“If we get stuck making a camp out of pine branches-”

“I know,” Mulder interrupted. “But I think we’re lucky this time because we’ll have Bristol and Martinez knowing our every move. We won’t be on our own and we have an idea of what we’re looking for.”

“That _blurry_ video?” she clarified.

“Chuck emailed me this morning about that,” Mulder continued. “He said he’s going to work on cleaning it up for us.”

She sighed as she used the tip of her manicured nail to scratch at her neck. Resigned this was going to happen whether she was happy about it or not, she nodded. “Okay.”

“Yeah?” he said and leaned forward on his elbows.

“Let’s sign up for a Bigfoot tour,” she said.

Mulder clapped his hands once. “ _Hot damn_!”

Scully’s cheeks flushed when she noticed the other patrons around them looking at them. She looked back at Mulder and held up one finger. “On one condition.”

Mulder leaned in and his mouth inched closer to hers. “Anything.”

“If we’re in the woods, and it comes down to seeing Bigfoot or us surviving, we choose us,” she bartered.

“I wouldn’t put you at risk-” he started.

“It’s not me I’m worried about,” she said. “I know you’d go to the ends of the earth to save me because you have. What I’m saying is that I don’t believe a large simian would attack humans in this manner. I’m certain we are looking for a person or persons. However if, and this is a giant if Mitchell, if you think you see Bigfoot but it could put you in danger, please protect yourself.”

“Watch my six?” he said quoting the lab tech who sent them off from the bureau. His face was inching closer to hers and she let him sneak a kiss. “Want to watch it for me?”

Scully kissed him again. “Promise me.”

“I promise,” he said as he sat back.

He made an x over his heart and saluted. She rolled her eyes and tried not to fall into his charms but it was a tough battle. Either this was Mulder playing Mitchell or just being himself but he was loveable and funny.

  
***

Scully read through the case files again and made notes from the autopsy file on Greene’s family as the pot of pasta sauce simmered on the stove. She was waiting for the water to boil for their noodles and Mulder had been tasked to cut up vegetables for a salad. After a day out, they had chosen to stay in and maybe visit a pub later for a nightcap.

The purpose of their outing was actually a reconnaissance mission because one of the receipts Scully found was for Bully Ranch Restaurant, for two days before the last couple were murdered. Credit card statements from Carson Middleton confirmed the receipts Scully found belonged to the murdered couple.

Mulder held up two pieces of cucumber that were slightly different sizes. “This big, Scully?”

“Sophie,” she corrected him as she looked up from her notes and nodded. “Yeah, that size.”

Mulder tossed the pieces on top of the lettuce and began peeling a carrot. “Same size for the carrots?”

“Slightly thinner,” she instructed as she looked back at the bodies.

She picked up the photos of the crime scene and held the close-up of Jennifer and Carson Middleton. “These wounds are not made by any beast.”

Mulder approached Scully with a half-peeled carrot in his hand and an apron over his torso. There was a tea towel slung over his shoulder and she decided the domestic look on Mulder was adorable.

“Is it gross?” he asked.

Scully put a magnifying glass over the enlarged wound photographed on Carson Middleton’s torso. “If this was an animal attack for food, why does he look beaten?”

Mulder looked closer. “Where?”

She pointed her red fingernail at the fist mark next to the torn skin. “There.”

He stood up and made a face. “How was the skin torn?”

“The autopsy notes don’t indicate how the mauling occurred,” Scully said. “It looks like a blunt instrument but other animals came to the scene shortly after the attack.”

“Mountain lions?” Mulder guessed and she nodded. “You know a cougar can stalk you for miles and you’d never know it.”

“Keep that in mind when you go running tomorrow,” Scully told him.

Mulder grimaced. “Imagine to survive scaling a gondola in motion, being shot, an alien train car fire, alien bounty hunters, mothmen attacks and Robert Patrick Modell only to be _eaten_ by a _cougar_.”

“Maybe you’d be mauled and get that peg leg you always wanted,” she said lightly as she continued to look over the autopsy photos and notes.

“If it wasn’t by something fantastical, it would be a waste,” he mused and she heard him begin to cut up the carrots. “Sorry, Sophie. How big do I cut these?”

Scully set her pen down and got up from her spot at the table. She took the knife from Mulder to make three thin slices. “Like that.”

She set the knife down and poured the uncooked noodles in the boiling water. She set the timer on the oven and stirred the pot once with a long spoon. “You have eight minutes to finish that salad.”

Mulder looked at the tomatoes, peppers and celery left to cut up. “Eight?”

“That should be enough time,” she said in a tone that was more instructional than patient.

He had taken fifteen minutes to wash the lettuce and slice the cucumbers. His culinary skills were definitely lacking but he was a happy student.

“You’re so _bossy_ ,” he teased as he wiped his hands on the towel over his shoulder.

Scully slapped his backside. “Get moving, G-Man.”

As it turns out, Mulder was an excellent prep-cook and was able to finish only three minutes after the pasta was cooked, cooled and mixed with the sauce. As Mulder was opening a bottle of white wine for them to share, their landline rang. He crossed the kitchen to where the phone hung on the wall with the bottle in hand.

“Hello?” he answered and tucked the phone between his ear and shoulder. “This is Mitchell Robinson.”

Scully smirked to see him doing such a domestic thing and answering the phone without his last name as a greeting. He pulled the cork out of the bottle and poured them each a glass.

“Sure thing, I’ll be by tomorrow,” Mulder said as he walked back to the hook. “Thanks.”

He hung the phone back on the wall and he caught Scully smiling at him.

“What?” he asked as he sat down adjacent to her at the table.

“You look good in a domestic setting,” she noted and she took a sip of her wine.

“You’re flirty today,” he said with a laugh.

She set her glass down and picked up her fork. “I’ve never seen you spend this much time in a kitchen that didn’t require chopsticks and reheated plates.”

Mulder thought for a moment with his fork a few inches away from his mouth. “I think I made you a sandwich once but I guess butter knives don’t count for cooking.”

“Peanut butter and jam is barely food preparation,” she said with a laugh and he made a face before taking a bite. “What can you cook?”

“I’m a better dancer than a cook,” he replied in an obvious attempt not to answer her question and she laughed again. “I can dance!”

“I believe you,” she quipped quietly and took a small bite of her rotini.

“Oh sure, that she believes,” he mocked as though there was someone else in the room. “I took some dance lessons while I was at Oxford.”

Scully felt a gleeful grin cross her face. “Did you?”

He nodded. “Yeah. We had to take a mandatory elective and it was that or art class. We know how my handwriting looks. Imagine how I would do with still life fruit.”

“You could have had interpretive art,” Scully laughed.

Mulder leaned across the table and kissed her cheek. “It’s nice to see this side of you. The smiling happy… Sophie.”

She nodded. “Must be the company I’m keeping.”

Mulder beamed. “Must be.”

They ate a few bites of food and Scully realized that even though they were on a case, there was a lot less to distract Mulder from being the man she worked alongside for the last seven years. It begged the question, how much of this guy she was getting used to was an act?

“How much of this is you and how much of this is Mitchell?” Scully asked warily and Mulder made a face. “I mean, how much is this an affectation of our undercover persona and how much of this guy is you that I’m going to see in Washington when this case is over?”

Mulder took a bite of his pasta and chewed thoughtfully. He looked lost. Eventually, he opened his mouth to speak. “I might not live up to this but I can try.”

The question had obviously put a feeling of self-doubt onto Mulder and she put her hand on his forearm to rub it soothingly.

“I have to say that I think this guy might be too distracting in D.C.,” she told him and he looked at her questioningly. “I don’t mean this as a way to offend you Mulder, but your apartment is rarely clean and your fish are the most thought I’ve seen you put into feeding a living thing and that includes yourself. I’m not expecting you to be someone else.”

He seemed to understand where she was going with this and he nodded. “It probably wouldn’t kill me to try to learn to be a higher functioning more aware of you, kind of guy.”

She nodded with a rueful smile. “I promise it wouldn’t.”

Mulder looked down at his noodles. “I really hate grocery shopping for one person. Half the fresh food gets wasted. Take-out always seemed more economical.”

“Your metabolic rate still processes high fatty foods like it did in your younger years however I think all the gym time you put in during our year in the bullpen helped combat any weight you might have gained from not being out in the field,” she noted.

“I might have been trying to combat some sexual frustration,” he said sheepishly and Scully’s brow furrowed. “Well… the almost kiss, seeing you naked in Antarctica, close quarters being what they were when we got to the base, then you seemed to have this lip licking tick that got even more pronounced while we were working under Kersh…”

“What?”

“You were driving me _crazy_ ,” he told her with an almost laugh. “Then that decontamination shower _situation_ at Fort Marlene didn’t help.”

“How do you think I felt?” she countered and Mulder’s face showed he had no idea. “It was hard for me too.”

“Was it?” he asked and he seemed relieved when she nodded. “Scu- I mean Sophie… that makes me feel a lot better.”

She took a bite of her noodles and chewed for a moment. When she swallowed she said, “I didn’t know where we stood. I knew you had the intent to kiss me but you didn’t try again after we returned to D.C…”

“I was angry about the X-Files and I took it out on a lot of people,” Mulder confessed. “I felt like after all we had seen your science would be able to back up my theory.”

“Mulder, the junk DNA I identified that’s alien is in all of us,” she said, using his actual name and Mulder let that slide. “I believe that what you saw-”

He held up his hands, cutting her off. “I don’t want to fight about this.”

“I’m not fighting,” she retorted but she felt herself getting tense anyway. “I’m just saying that kissing you wouldn’t have changed the science.”

“But what do you believe now?” he asked her.

“I believe we aren’t alone,” she told him and he opened his mouth to say something. “Hold it right there. I believe what you saw. I believe what happened to me and I believe that one day science will prove that your theories are correct. I just don’t believe that every case of lights in the sky is going to be an extraterrestrial being. Sometimes what’s reported as swamp gas is just swamp gas.”

“Occam’s razor is the theory that the simplest answer is the easiest one but I believe that’s a theory of _un_ -imagination,” he told her.

“Except sometimes when you hear hooves it really is a horse, not a zebra,” she sighed.

“Are you insinuating something about this case?” he asked her.

“Perhaps,” she mused. “If we see a large simian creature, I would bet all the money in my pocket that it’s not the cause of these murders.”

Mulder leaned forward on his elbows. “I wouldn’t bet against that. Creatures such as this don’t _tend_ to be predators…”

“How many hoaxes have we been called out on?” she asked him.

“A fair few,” he admitted.

“It wouldn’t make sense for me to hold onto science and disbelief if occasionally we weren’t finding men in alligator-shaped shoes making tracks or tricky farmers making crop circles trying to increase business to their hay maze,” she told him and he nodded.

“We’ve seen so much!” he insisted. “Our investigations aren’t always a let down. They just hardly feel like they have closure.”

“And I believe what I’ve seen and what you’ve seen, Mulder,” she said. “I just don’t believe every report about some kind of hinky activity, as you like to put it, is going to be that actually. I want proof. I want science.”

“I know,” he agreed. “Trust me, I _know_.”

“Don’t act so surprised when I roll my eyes at the notion we’re not actually looking for Bigfoot,” she replied. “If it is out there, I want to see it too but I’m not going into the woods expecting to see it whereas you _are_.”

”You’re probably the most stubborn woman I’ve ever fake married in my whole life,” he said before picking up his fork and putting a large bite into his mouth.

“For better or worse,” she muttered and took a bite of her pasta also.

Mulder swallowed. “I love you anyway.”

Scully turned her face to his and licked the sauce at the edge of her mouth.

“Say it back,” he whispered as he leaned closer.

“I love you back,” she replied and he kissed her softly. They maintained eye contact and Mulder’s smug expression at her admission was too endearing. “You bug me.”

Mulder waggled his eyebrows at her. “Nah, you love me.”

“Shut up,” she mumbled and Mulder laughed.

  
***

The Bully Ranch Restaurant and Pub had sleek lines, exposed wooden beams and accents like a large firewood pile that was merely decorative behind the hosting station. The black ceiling mimicked the night sky and the mix of wood on the bar to the booths was eclectic but somehow it worked.

From the rustic oak on the floor to the rock creek siding outside, the place advertised the homey life of a ski resort town. Other places Scully and Mulder had stopped into during their visit advertised an expensive, elite lifestyle while this place was more about home cooking and feeling good. The patio was closed down for the cold winter months but there were patrons lingering around with cold beverages in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

Inside smelled like deep fried foods and garlic pasta sauces. If they hadn’t eaten already that evening, her stomach might be rumbling just on suggestive smells. The menu offered oversized hamburgers on doughy buns and deep fried wings in a variety of sauces. Chandeliers made of elk antlers decorated each light fixture and most patrons sat with oversized pints of different coloured ales.

Mulder fingered the bottom edges of his beer glass and looked around the busy restaurant. From their spot at the bar, he could see the majority of the space and his arm across the back of Scully’s bar stool gave him the opportunity to play up their cover. His right arm reached across to her right shoulder and his finger was drawing lazy circles through the sleeve on her sweater.

They had been there for two hours, had a drink each with a second in front of them and had yet to really find out much about the visit Jennifer and Carson Middleton had. The waitress that came by didn’t seem forthcoming when they asked about tourists in the last week in the casual way they could without their cover being blown and their bartender had spent the last hour talking to a blonde woman at the other end.

Classic rock music played on the the stereo system from the ceiling and while the tables were full of patrons, they had been able to discuss things without shouting at each other.

“See anyone suspicious?” Mulder asked quietly in her ear.

Scully put her hand on his thigh and turned to look at him. She shook her head slowly and leaned her body into his. “How’s your beer, Mitchell?”

Mulder kissed her shoulder. “I’ve tasted better recently.”

The innuendo wasn’t lost on her. Scully fought a smile and picked up her wineglass. “Don’t.”

“I wasn’t!” he protested but they both knew that was a lie. Scully’s hand inched further up his thigh and he covered it with his left hand before it could reach her intended destination. “Mrs. _Robinson_!”

Scully’s fingers dug into his jean-clad thigh, scratched slightly in a way she knew would tickle him and Mulder bit her shoulder through her sweater.

“Hey!” she cried out and they both laughed.

“How are you two doing with your drinks?” the bartender asked as Scully pushed Mulder’s face away from her shoulder.

He was approximately twenty-five and very fit. He had a kind face that probably lended itself to lucrative shifts with lonely female travellers who waited on their business men husbands. His name tag read Troy and she thought that was a suitable name for an attractive bartender.

Mulder wiped at his face and moved his hand back to his beer glass. “We’re good.”

“You folks staying at the Sonnenalp?” Troy asked.

“We’re at a townhouse on Gore Creek,” Mulder said pointing over his shoulder as though that was the direction when it was probably not.

A bill for three beers printed up near them and Troy began filling tall glasses with the amber ale. “Here on business or pleasure?”

“Pleasure,” Scully replied with a smile.

“You guys got any recommendations for places to see around Vail?” Mulder asked. “We heard about that Bigfoot tour. I think that would be a riot!”

Troy set the pints on the pick-up station adjacent to where they were sitting with the bill underneath and he wiped his hands on a towel on the bar. “Well, it’s advertised as kooky, campy fun but I think it’s a money grab.”

“Let’s pretend we wanna waste our money anyway,” Mulder said with a casual shrug.

Troy looked around the busy bar and moved closer to them. Mulder and Scully leaned forward.

“It’s a money grab,” Troy said and Mulder slumped back in his chair, obviously disappointed. “I’m serious. They get you out there, take your money and you see fake tracks and some possible shelter.”

“ _Shelter_?” Mulder asked. He wasn’t leaning forward again but he was clearly interested.

Across the bar, where Scully looked was the esthetician she had met earlier, Lisa, with a man who she assumed was her fiancé. He was tall, about 6’2” with a strong build and dark features. He looked like a lumberjack in his tan pants and red plaid shirt but Scully learned earlier that day that he was a psychiatrist. He had a slight scowl on his face as he looked around the bar as if he was casing the joint.

As Mulder and Troy continued their conversation about the Bigfoot tour, Scully watched as Lisa and her fiancé seemed to bicker. Scully could read Lisa’s lips asking them to leave and her fiancé pulled her under his arm to his body. She read his lips clearly.

“ _Shut up_ ,” he said and Lisa scowled at him.

She seemed to listen to him anyway and sat with her arms crossed under her chest as he continued to look around.

Troy moved away from the bar abruptly and rang the bell above the bar. “Last call!”

Mulder looked at his watch and noted the time. “I guess this place closes by eleven.”

He put two twenties on the bar and tapped it until Troy came by. The bartender thanked them and gave a wink to Scully in the cheeky way younger men liked to flirt with their husbands watching. In response, Scully drank the last of her white wine and Mulder finished his beer.

“I think we should come back here tomorrow,” Scully said to Mulder as he got off his stool.

“Ready to snuggle up like two baby cats?” he asked as held up her jacket.

“They’re called kittens, Mitchell,” she told him as she adjusted her collar.

He shrugged and put on his own coat. “Baby cats sounds cuter.”

She drew the lapels of his jacket closed and pulled him down for a public display of affection. “You’re kind of an ass.”

He smiled broadly at her and nodded emphatically before he kissed her softly. She felt the tingle in her belly with the embers of desire. Mulder was sexy as hell and that helped balance the part of him that was an ass.

“I’m _your_ ass,” he told her quietly.

She sighed. “Why don’t you take me home and-”

“Don’t say any more,” he stopped her. “I don’t want to shock the other patrons with your dirty language.”

Scully chuffed a laugh and looked over her shoulder to see Lisa’s fiancé watching them. She turned back to Mulder and tried to make eye contact with Troy. He raised his eyebrows at her and leaned forward on the bar.

“Do you know that man?” she asked as she nodded toward Lisa and her fiancé.

Troy glanced over to where Lisa was getting her coat on.

“That’s Doc Horton,” Troy said. “He and his lady are here almost every night if he’s not working at the hospital.”

“He’s a physician?” Scully clarified.

“No, he’s a head doctor,” Troy replied and snapped his fingers as he thought of the word. “Psychiatrist? He works on call for the hospital but he’s the only guy in Vail who does the head shrinking gig.”

“He looks like the Brawny paper towel guy,” Mulder noted quietly.

“He’s effective when there’s a brawl,” Troy replied. “His family used to do an outdoor tour but they shut down last year.”

“Not him?” Scully asked.

“Troy!” another bartender called.

“Sorry folks,” he apologized. “See you tomorrow?”

Mulder and Scully nodded. As they got in their SUV and waited for it to warm up, Mulder pushed the buttons on the dash to turn on the seat heaters.

“Why were you asking about the Brawny man?”

Scully shook her head. “I don’t know, maybe it’s nothing. I just got a feeling.”

“A gut instinct?” he asked excitedly and she shrugged as if to say maybe. “You are a tease.”

She leaned over the console. “In all seriousness-”

Mulder grabbed the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss. Her eyes flew open but the feeling of his tongue against hers calmed her worries and excited her belly. He was so good at this. Just the way he tasted her, how he moved his mouth against hers and put the right amount of pressure on her tongue.

Her fingers found the lapels on his jacket to keep him close to her and his hand brazenly moved from her shoulder to her breast.

Information of obvious statements screamed in her mind. _They were in public. They were in a crowded lot. This was beyond the scope of their undercover persona. What had gotten into him?_

She didn’t care as long as his hand continued to squeeze her breast and the other slipped down her backside. Making out in an SUV was a little tougher than a parked car but regardless, his large size assisted as he leaned into her and took liberties with their cover.

His hand moved around the front of her jeans to between her legs and she broke the kiss.

“Not here,” she breathed and his mouth claimed hers again.

The kiss built up as his hand pushed in between her legs and the seam of her jeans rubbed against her centre. He was hungry for her and she had experienced that before. Usually, Mulder started on the track and struggled to get off. It was a five minute drive to their rental townhouse.

She pushed on him again and he reluctantly broke the kiss. “Not here.”

The hunger in his eyes and his jeans was plainly evident. “Sorry.”

Scully wiped at the edges of her mouth. “What’s getting into you?”

“I think I looked down your sweater too many times during our outing,” he said sheepishly. He adjusted himself and put on his seatbelt. “Ready?”

She licked her lips and put on her own seatbelt. “Let’s go G-Man.”

As they pulled out of their parking stall, Scully looked over to see Doctor Horton watching them from his truck. At least their cover was safe with all the public displays of affection but the look in his eye worried her.


	6. Sightings

The choice to spend time together on weekends became easy once they had begun sleeping together. Mulder stopped making excuses with a file or a case he wanted a second opinion on and Scully started making enough for two when she pulled items for dinner.

Occasionally, Mulder showed up with beer and take-out. Other times he brought wine and a movie he claimed Scully would enjoy but that became code for, “I’m going to grope you and kiss you until we do untold things to each other on the couch.”

It worked. It was blissful and admittedly, they were happy. It was something.

It wasn’t until they met with Donnie Pfaster that their skewed sense of normalcy had somewhat flown out the window.

After they returned from the Bully Ranch Restaurant, Scully was sitting at the coffee table researching the correlation between the wounds she found on the victims to other cases involving human maulings. She watched Mulder nod with his eyebrows raised as though he understood her research but he quickly turned on basketball to signal he was no longer helping.

A basketball that somehow found its way to Vail in their luggage was being tossed in the air over his head skillfully as his feet were propped on the coffee table next to her papers.

When she finished with a certain file, she would lift his heels and place the folder underneath his feet. Mulder shouted at the television for a bad call and winked at her when she looked over her shoulder to observe the man making all the commotion. The players on the screen were wearing yellow or red. Someone in yellow was holding his shin as he laid on the shiny floor of the court.

“Foul?” Scully guessed.

“Big time,” he said with a shake of his head. “Gonna pay for that one.”

Scully patted his leg and got up from her spot on the living room floor to satisfy a salty craving. As she discarded the crinkly wrapping from Orville Redenbacher and set the microwave for two minutes, Mulder came up behind her.

His hands always went to her waist at first, touching along her belly before one bravely snuck under her shirt to find her breast. He slid her leggings down from under her oversized Georgetown T-shirt and when his fingers reached her centre they both felt surprised at how wet she is.

“Scully,” he whispered in amazement at the unexpected moisture his fingers found between her legs. She missed him calling her that. It would be a solace to hear her name whispered in quiet moments of their assignment. It had been only a few days but hearing a different name all day irked at her. “You’re so wet.”

Her mind didn’t catch the name drop. Her body was taken away from her rationalizing and she wanted to be with him in that moment, not the man she was pretending to be married to.

“Mulder,” she whispered as one of his long fingers explored her folds. Take-out menus fell to the floor as her hands searched the countertop for balance. “The popcorn…”

Mulder’s hand moved from her breast and hit the “Stop/Reset” button. His hand moved back under her breast under her shirt and as his palm kneaded her flesh, the other played at the folds of her wetness.

Scully’s hands clutched at the counter as he worked behind her. She could feel his hardened desire pressing in between the cheeks of her bare ass and she moaned at the anticipation she would have that inside her soon. It was still exciting and new to have this relationship they had built on friendship, trust and their work turn into something of love as well as more basic passionate desires. Her body responded to his so quickly and she wondered if this would always be or if she could ever grow tired of how aptly he knew her body, like an artist took clay and formed it into a sculpture. She felt like clay on a spinning wheel he would turn inside out and back again. She welcomed being broken apart by him from the professional suits and strict science to a woman undone with passion.

She turned her face to his and he kissed her with fervent need. She wanted to turn around to feel him pressed against her. It was a struggle to want him in so many different ways but compared to all the other ways they had faced strife in their pasts, this was obviously a frivolous dilemma.

In an attempt to soothe his own desires, he rocked against her backside and thrust a few times. They began a slow dry hump as the pad of his finger found her clit and circled the bundle of nerves in skilled movements. What felt like a small rush inside her was the beginning of her build toward an orgasm. Mulder would try to get her there one or two times before he came because he felt like since she could have multiple orgasms, she should have multiple orgasms.

For as long as he could drone on about the existence and reported sightings of lights in the sky being an alien ship, the man could spend just as much time devoted to her body and giving her pleasure. His tenacity was a blessing in the bedroom, or in this instance, the kitchen.

Mulder kissed her with his whole mouth as his cock rubbed against her backside through his jeans. As his hand pinched her nipples under her shirt, she felt the wanton and wild desire flush through her body as the impending release of her first orgasm was about to wash over her. It was like a tidal wave through her body, overwhelming at first.

Her body felt taught. She felt like she couldn’t breathe until the wave passed and she needed the release like getting her head above water. As her body was overtaken by sublime pleasures, she finally found release. Mulder whispered her name in her ear as his fingers put more harsh pressure on her breasts.

“Let go, Scully,” he urged her.

Scully slammed her fist on the counter top and her knees almost buckled as the orgasm flowed through her. “Oh God!”

She felt the break in the water above her head and she took in a long breath as she panted in his arms. She was safe with him. He held her upright with his arm around her solidly and his hips under hers.

She panted as a drip of sweat threatened to fall down her temple to her cheek and she felt altogether too warm in the confines of her clothing. Scully locked her knees and pulled on the hemline of her shirt. Mulder helped her shed the T-shirt before helping her step out of her leggings and socks.

As Mulder shed his own shirt, Scully pulled on his belt and unfastened it quickly. Her fingers made quick waste of his button and fly, shoving his jeans to the floor with his boxers following. He was completely hard for her and she ran her hand up his shaft, almost delicately, as she coveted such a thing she knew was considered a sin. How could something so good between them be coveted to be wrong?

The acts of devotion they committed in the privacy of her home, his home, their office and this rental space didn’t matter. The love they shared wiped away all guilt her Catholic heart might carry on. Perhaps she was more aware of her actions since she committed the ultimate sin by taking a life. Her faith would have to wait for review until later.

This was not bad or untoward or evil. This was the worshipping of two bodies for people who deserved all the love they could get. They had been through enough to get here. It was the one relationship in her life she didn’t harbour any fears of discovery or what anyone would think. This was the man she was meant to be with, completely and fully. While they had just begun this relationship, she knew that a ring didn’t and piece of paper wouldn’t change her heart. God would have to understand as she pushed Mulder to the floor and straddled his lap.

“Yeah?” he said as he kicked his jeans and boxers off his feet.

Mulder liked her on top. He liked her on the bottom or on all fours. The man didn’t have a specific preference but he had told her a time or two as she slid down his cock to take him in that it was the sexiest thing he had ever seen. He said that about a lot of things she did that involved him and his dick.

“Yeah,” she said and she took the base of him in her hand to align their sexes.

“That’s the sexiest fucking thing I’ve ever seen you do,” he breathed as the tip of his cock popped inside her.

“I bet you say that to all your fake wives,” she teased.

Mulder shook his head. “You’re my first fake wife.”

Their eyes locked for a moment and she could feel he wanted to say something else but he held back. She would ask him later, knowing that in the satiated moments of quiet reflection in a bed Mulder might bring it up. He was terrible with secrets when it came to how he felt. If it was about the actions of others, he seemed to be able to hold onto it like an errant seed in his pocket he saved for a long meeting with Skinner.

She felt so swollen from her recent orgasm and his impressive size was all but easy to adjust to. Her body would and they would find a rhythm that pleased them both. But at first, she would need to slowly sink down and adjust as he filled her. It was the kind of hurt she welcomed and his hand reached for hers as they interlaced fingers. Mulder’s free hand went to her hips and squeezed firmly on her ass but she needed a moment. He wanted her to move so desperately but inside was pulsing.

As his fingers dug in harder, Mulder found her mouth and they kissed. Her body relaxed and she felt the twinges of pain subside. His tongue slipped against hers and their bodies stilled as they continued the kisses from the car. Mulder had been so insistent then, she worried he would have suggested the back seat and she wouldn’t have the self control to say no.

He made her feel wild and feral at times with just an assertive kiss with persevering hands that knew where her body wanted to be touched. He could make her abandon her reasoning against the wall of their office when they both knew of the dangers they were facing if caught.

This was what she feared before they got involved that his passions could take over her rational mind. Now, she welcomed the risk in a time when her work still drove her forward each day and his desire for her was an abstract distraction she could stare at for hours like a Pollock piece. They had taken so much from her already and the time to live in fear something or someone else could be taken too was not now. The conspiracy took her and her chance to be a mother and the consortium took their sisters for a sacrifice not worth making. After all they had been through since being partnered together, Mulder was so certain they wouldn’t lose their jobs. None of what Scully had endured for the “greater good” would be sanctioned by news outlets or any reporter thirsty for a scoop and a byline on the front page.

They decided to move forward and go all in. Nothing the FBI could throw at them, anyone from the consortium who could threaten them, anything in the world wouldn’t harm them as long as they had each other. The voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she could lose him too. She hated that voice.

Her hips bobbed up and down once and Mulder groaned into her mouth. Their kiss broke as his face pressed into her neck and she tilted her head back to fall into the pleasures of their lovemaking.

“Fuck, you feel so good,” he groaned.

Scully repeated the action and his teeth nipped at the thin skin along the tendon on her neck. The sharp sensation went straight to her centre.

In an attempt to reach her second orgasm in time with his, she pushed her finger between her folds and began massaging her clit as her hips moved up and down. His hands were moving up her back and the places that were once open and pained felt soothed by his touch.

It was hard to concentrate on a rhythm as she did that but perhaps the lack of repetitive motion would help stave off Mulder’s orgasm. It tended to happen quicker when she was in control like this, with the visual overload of her on top and her setting the pace. If it happened quicker than they anticipated, he would smile sheepishly and push two long fingers inside her to make her satiated as she worked her clit.

Tonight as she pushed her hips into his, she saw that the pending release for him would not be quick. She could see the look of determination in his eyes and his jaw was not slack but set. Maybe it was their activity in the shower or the late hour, but his body was not pliant to an early release that could happen in this position.

Pulling her legs so they were behind him instead of under her bottom, Mulder then opened his legs so she was seated on the floor. His cock tilted down at this angle and hit a different spot than before. It was exquisite. She tilted her head back and Mulder grabbed her hips to push her back and forth along the floor. Scully held onto his ankles behind her and as she pushed her hips into his, his pelvis ground against her clit. The sharp sensation of another orgasm fluttered through her belly.

Mulder’s eyes were transfixed on her breasts as she arched her back and moved her hips straight into his and then up as she pulled back. Their hips were mimicking the motion of a cross-country ski cutting through fresh powder. The analogy fit since they were in a ski village but it made her smile nonetheless.

“Why are you smiling?” Mulder asked as he looked up from her breasts. Scully shook her head and tried to continue her hips. She looked down at their bodies where they were joined and Mulder’s eyes followed. “Fuck, that looks good.”

He was so easily swayed from a question at a time like this and she would have to remember not to abuse that.

She grunted in agreement.

He put his weight on one hand behind him and put the other between their bodies. As his thumb found her clit, her head fell back and she sighed his name.

“Like that?” he asked in a low growl.

Scully nodded and continued her methodical movements. What his thumb and cock were doing inside of her was the practiced work of a man who had the love and devotion to her undoing. She would cry out to God under his tongue or from the movements of his fingers. Sometimes she would call him names and he would admonish her with a playful grin. It was all the personal and quiet moments of their partnership that helped combat the times they would be arguing over information that seemed sketchy at best but he believed with his whole heart. Maybe what made this so much more explosive was that they could have such differences of opinions and still fuck each other senseless.

She never wanted to be with someone who agreed with everything she said. Mulder’s challenges to what science understood was exciting as was the feeling of him moving in and out of her. It excited different places inside her but the overall understanding was that nothing about Fox Mulder was boring.

“Come on, Scully,” he whispered. “Let go.”

Her voice caught in her throat as she almost called out his name and the constriction of her womb began with the pressure of her orgasm. It was intense and she felt herself swell in the familiar way that almost pushed his cock out of her. He pulled her hips to his and he cried out as she came.

“Fuck, you’re so tight!” he groaned.

“Yeah,” she almost whined and he rocked their hips together again. “Oh!”

“You’re a good…” Mulder stopped himself.

Scully let go of his ankles and laid back on the cold tile floor. She was trying to catch her breath but her mind clung onto the sentence he started. “I’m what?”

“I was going to say a really good lay but that’s derogatory to what we are,” he said with a rough voice. She looked up at him from the floor and he shrugged. “I meant it in a way that honoured and respected you as a person and a woman. I just really like how we do that.”

She chuffed a laugh and Mulder’s cock slipped out of her. He was very much hard and she looked down at his member, glistening with her fluids. “I’m surprisingly not offended but maybe it’s because I like you so much.”

“You like me?” he teased as though this was the first confession from her.

“Don’t push it,” she warned and he laughed too.

“How do you want to take care of that?” she asked, pointing to the swollen member between them that was waiting for her attention.

“Would you let me take you up to a bed?” he asked. “Since the good lay comment, I think I should make up for it.”

She laughed again and tried to sit up. He helped her the rest of the way and they gathered their clothes. As they exited the kitchen and rounded the corner to the stairs, Mulder pushed her into the wall and kissed her again.

Maybe he couldn’t wait for them to get to a bed. The wood panelling on the wall was cold against her back and his body felt hot against hers. The juxtaposition of temperatures made goosebumps on her body stand up and Mulder’s hands made her skin ache and twinge as they moved roughly over her arms and then up her legs.

She stepped up one of the stairs and Mulder brought her outside leg up, around his hip. Their sexes were aligned perfectly and his cock pushed slowly inside.

Mulder let out a long sigh as he reached the hilt and he pushed his hips against hers. She could feel the tip of his cock hitting her cervix and it made a twinge inside her belly.

“Like this,” he said and she nodded. “Just like this.”

Mulder’s hands held her backside as her hands thread up through his hair. She rested her elbows on his shoulders and he kissed her softly before thrusting once. He was not being rough but it wasn’t the kind of soft, gentle lovemaking he practiced from time to time. This was somewhere in the middle of the sex they had on her apartment floor and the way he pushed in and out of her in the shower. It was sweet and delicious while reminding her this was a carnal act of indulgence.

Their mouths met again as his hips began pumping slowly. Scully held onto him as he pushed in and out. It was almost enough to get her there a third time but that might be greedy. His fingers were soothing the places on her ass cheeks he had marked earlier with his grip while brushing along the crease in a way that excited her.

The kiss broke and she pushed her forehead onto his collarbone. She might get there anyhow with this friction and the sensations of her last two orgasms still tingling in her belly.

Methodically he moved in and out and the shocks in her belly started.

“I’m-” she started and her eyes flew open. “Oh god!”

“Yeah,” he growled and continued his thrusts. “Come Scully. I want to feel you suck it right out of me.”

The vulgar description excited her and she felt herself begin to contract. Mulder, who could talk about anything, occasionally talked dirty to her and vice versa. Usually, it was during a thorough oral exploration of their sexes and neither of them could blame the other later because how do you fault someone for telling you how happy you made them? The things that tumbled out of their lips during sex were for only them to know and it was another sweet mystery they would keep to themselves.

Mulder’s hips continued to push against hers and his fingers pulled her ass apart as he pushed up. It was all so much sensory overload and she suddenly broke apart as her walls contracted. She felt a rush of fluid between them and suddenly Mulder’s jaw went slack as he rode out her orgasm with her.

“Fuck, Scully,” he groaned. “I’m… Oh fuck, I’m gonna come.”

They stared into each other’s eyes as he emptied himself inside of her and she felt herself squeezing him as he pulsed. This was the kind of sex that made miracles and babies but that wouldn’t be a truth for them.

Mulder must have caught the thought as it entered her mind and he shook his head. “Don’t be sad.”

She pushed her lower lip out and he caught it between his teeth playfully. When he let go, he kissed her cheek.

“Don’t be sad, Sophie Robinson-Dana Scully,” he said lightly.

“How did you know?” she asked.

Mulder let her leg down to the floor and his cock slipped out of her. He picked up his underwear and wiped away their fluid from between her legs.

“Bathroom is right there,” she said and took the boxer shorts from Mulder to walk awkwardly to the bathroom.

As she was washing her hands, Mulder entered to clean himself off and wash his hands also. He took the soiled clothing from her and pulled her body to his in an embrace.

“Do you think about that every time?” he asked her.

He was referring to the fact that they wouldn’t make a baby by coitus and she shrugged.

“Just sometimes,” she admitted into his chest.

“I don’t think you’ve lost your chance to be a mother,” he said quietly as his face rubbed against her hair. “Someone as amazing as you has to have that opportunity. Any child would be lucky to have you as a mother.”

Scully looked up at him and could see something there she didn’t quite understand. Maybe a secret he was keeping or maybe something else. “I don’t know how to facilitate that on my own… When I tried with Emily, they said I couldn’t as a single parent.”

“I didn’t think you would accept my help then,” Mulder said. “Then and now I would do anything to help you.”

“Even if it meant me leaving the X-files?” she asked.

“I’m hoping it wouldn’t come to that,” he told her.

“You should say almost anything,” she replied and extracted herself from his grasp. “Not would.”

She heard him calling her name as she walked up the stairs but she didn’t want to turn back to face him. She wanted space and time to reflect on how she felt. The emotions of Donnie Pfaster were making things closer to the front of her mind and things that she tried to move on from were at the surface right now. There was no space to decompress here in the close quarters of the undercover assignment unless he slept in another room. Mulder hated sleeping alone and would rather sleep next to her not speaking than sleep away from her.

When he came upstairs a few minutes later, she was in bed facing away from him. He brushed his teeth, donned his pyjama pants and climbed into the bed next to her without saying a word. She tried to regulate her breathing to seem as though she was asleep and she felt the bed shift as he moved around from his side to his back.

“Scully?” he whispered. He waited a beat. “Scully?”

“Mmm?”

He reached for her under the covers and put his hand on her hip. “It would be absolutely anything.”

“Promise?” she asked. She hated that her voice broke as she asked him.

Mulder sighed. “As much as I can promise right now, yes I promise.”

She put her hand over his on her body and felt the sleep begin to overtake. It was as much of a yes as she could get from a man who had run from every opportunity at a normal life with a wife, kids and a dog. He could have it all and yet he wouldn’t. She wanted it and couldn’t. It was the most unfair part of a life where so much had been stripped from her.

That would be a disagreement for another time and she was sure the frustration she felt would bubble out of her. Right now, she chose slumber.

  
***

Mulder was gone when Scully woke up the next morning. Coffee had been put on for her and there was a note by a mug for her that he was out for a run.

“S, doing another five miles and picking up stuff from Chuck. I’ll bring back flaky pastry, xo M”

Scully pulled the grey hooded sweatshirt he left yesterday on the kitchen table on over her pyjama top and sniffed in the cold morning air.

She took the opportunity to read through the rest of her notes in silence without him to distract her. What she discovered through the cases is that there was signs of blunt force trauma in every murder.

Scully checked the clock on the wall as she sipped her coffee and made notes in her book. Mulder would finish his five miles under three quarters of an hour but he would probably then stroll through the city to the post office to get their package. When he returned, chances are he would have take-out food with him and be ready for a shower.

It was a cowards way out from their discussion last night but she was frustrated. Occasionally, those frustrations came out into the forefront of her life and after too many times of being pushed down, they bubbled up at inopportune times.

Last night, she would have loved nothing more than to lay on Mulder’s chest as she fell asleep after they had made love. It wasn’t quite that comforting but he made a gesture to promise and she could only take him at his word.

As she looked up from her notes out the living room window, the street outside was busier than it had been from the last few days. She got up from her place on the living room floor and drew the curtains closed.

They had been closed last night when Scully and Mulder had their encounter in the kitchen. That was advantageous for them since the front window looked straight through the living room and to the back of the kitchen where Mulder and helped her out of her leggings.

Scully wondered if during Mulder’s morning routine he had opened the curtains on the main floor to look out and wonder about the population and people of the city they were investigating. She could picture him doing that with a mug of coffee in one hand and the other on his hip, looking contemplative and sexy at the same time.

She sighed audibly in the silence of the townhouse. She didn’t want to be a stick in the mud with her hang ups. He had his too. This was what they came into a relationship with and while she never imagined trying to explain it to anyone else, she didn’t want to.

Scully picked up her mug from the coffee table and walked across the space to pour herself a fresh cup. As she turned her back from the window, a figure caught the corner of her eye. She thought she saw a dark haired man with a beard watching her from across the street. The face looked familiar to her but something was off.

Crossing the living room, she opened the curtains again and looked out to the street of people walking up Gore Creek Drive to the city centre. The dark haired man she thought was watching her was gone and she shook her head at the silliness. Paranoia wasn’t her thing, it was Mulder’s and she was sure that she felt on edge because of Pfaster.

Taking a few calming breaths, she crossed back to the kitchen to get her fresh coffee. Just as she was putting the cream back in the fridge, Mulder entered the front door with a package and a paper bag.

“Hey,” he breathed and set his things down to get rid of his shoes. “It’s great running out there. The roads are so clear.”

“I’ll consider a run when the temperatures aren’t resembling that post-alien spaceship survival,” she deadpanned and he smiled at her. “What did you get?”

“Chuck sent Mitchell Robinson some stills of the blurry video Greene found for us,” Mulder reported with a smile as he picked up his things and crossed the entryway to her. “And I brought the cutest woman in Vail a chocolate croissant.”

“Oh great. So what did I get?” she quipped and he made a fake silent laugh face. “Chocolate?”

“You don’t think you’re cute, Sophie?”

Scully pushed out her lower lip and shrugged with one shoulder.

“You’re wearing my sweatshirt and making that face,” he said. “That’s pretty fucking cute.”

Scully sighed. “You think I’m adorable because I let you put your penis inside me.”

Mulder laughed. “That too but mostly because you are.”

She made the face again and he approached her to wrap his arms around her. “What?”

“I’m sorry-”

“No, Mitchell-” she cut him off.

His embrace relaxed but he kept her in the safety of his arms.

“I don’t need apologies,” she told him and he looked into her eyes to see how true that was. “Justice might not happen and apologies from you won’t change things.”

Mulder frowned at her. “I want to change it. I can’t accept this as a fate for us.”

Us was a heavy word and she felt her heart constrict. “Us?”

“Your future is my future,” he said simply.

Her chin wavered and she pushed her face into his chest. “Mitchell…”

“I know, that was pretty great but we’re hunting Bigfoot so at some point I’m going to be a horses ass,” he retorted and she almost laughed. “That’s better.”

Mulder’s hands rubbed up her back soothingly and she pulled away to look up at his face. “Were you standing on the street earlier?”

Mulder moved one hand from her lower back to scratch his fingers in through beard. “No, why?”

Scully shook her head. “It’s probably nothing.”

She could tell he had something he wanted to say but instead, he let go of her and picked up the file from Chuck Burks.

“Want to see something impressive?” he asked but the leer in his voice was obvious he was referring to something else.

Scully nodded. “I want to see what Chuck sent that you’re going to try to convince me is a mythical creature.”

“You keep that sass for later,” Mulder teased in a warning tone and she rolled her eyes but not because she was annoyed. “He was able to clean up the video quite a bit.”

“Did he find anything on the audio?” Scully asked, suddenly more interested in the photographs in Mulder’s hand. She took one and saw the evidence. “Oh my god.”

There, crouched by the body of one of the victims, was a large hairy creature. In that position, she couldn’t estimate it’s height but it appeared to be immense compared to the body on the ground. The side profile showed that it was not a mask or a body suit. The simian had no blood on its hands or face.

“I know,” Mulder said excitedly. “Sophie… It’s Bigfoot.”

“Look at its hands,” she said and pointed her red fingernail to where the creature was holding his hands palms down a few inches away from the body. The creature looked frightened and unsure. “If this was something it did, it would be covered in blood.”

Mulder took her wrist and pulled the photograph closer to his face. “Bigfoot is innocent.”

“We still need to do the Bigfoot tour,” Mulder told her.

“Do you want to call Bristol and Martinez or should I?” she asked.

“I think you’ve got about an hour before your appointment with Lisa. That should be a couple of hours and I will head back to the library. Chuck was sending the audio file to Denver last night,” Mulder told her. He set the photographs down and smiled at her. “Wanna scrub my back?”

“No,” she said and his face fell. “However, you can scrub mine.”

Mulder took Scully by the wrist and lead her upstairs to a shower where they could be both dirty and clean at the same time.

  
** **

Scully adjusted the blanket over her back as she laid on the massage table, waiting for Lisa to arrive. Julie showed Scully back to the room when she arrived and instructed Scully to undress and lay on her front for the preliminary part of the package which would be a full body massage.

The sound of the door opening caused Scully to look up and she saw that a blonde man with tanned skin entered the room.

“Doctor Robinson, oh my goodness, I was expecting a man!” the man greeted. He forced a smile. “I’m Jeffrey and I’ll be doing your massage today.”

“Were’s Lisa?” Scully asked, trying to maintain her cover but also feeling suspicious of the last minute change.

“Lisa had a family emergency,” Jeffrey said with forced enthusiasm.

“I can come back other time,” Scully offered and Jeffrey’s face fell. “I mean, it’s not entirely appropriate for what’s on the Embodiment package…”

“Honey, I’m just the fluffer for the package. I get you loosey goosey with my magic fingers before the main act. I’m also not looking at anything under your towel with any kind of untoward desires,” Jeffrey said with a wink. “You get me?”

Scully nodded. “I get you.”

“Marie will be in for the rest of the appointment,” Jeffrey told Scully. He squeezed some massage lotion into his palm and rubbed them together. “So, is it Doctor or Mrs. Robinson?”

“Both,” Scully answered. “I’m a doctor in D.C. and my husband works-”

“A doctor!” Jeffrey repeated approvingly. “My parents wanted me to be a doctor. They also wanted me to marry Lindy Merriweather.”

“What’s your track record?” Scully asked as she settled her face back on the cradle.

“Well I’m doing this and I live with Lindy’s older brother Tim Merriweather and he’s not my roommate,” Jeffrey replied slyly. Scully laughed and so did Jeffrey. “So what brings you to Vail?”

Scully recited their cover story and Jeffrey clucked his tongue in disapproval. Jeffrey talked about how he got into massage therapy and other jobs he does at the resort. With all the sore muscles and indulgence taking place in Vail, he had a full calendar. When he mentioned he worked with rehabilitation patients through the hospital, Scully attempted to ask him about doctors he worked with but Jeffrey didn’t quite pick up on what she was trying to get at. When she got to the part where she told Jeffrey about sightseeing and adventure tours they were interested, he cut her off.

“Save your hard earned money,” he advised her. “That is a money grab business and it seems to be creating a lot more problems.”

Scully wanted to look Jeffrey in the eye but he was currently working on her lower back. She couldn’t prop herself up to glance back at him and the lack of eye contact was becoming frustrating.

“What kind of problems?” Scully asked hoping she sounded curious but not suspicious.

Jeffrey lowered his voice and his hands stilled. “It’s not safe.”

Deciding to leave it at that, she told him she understood and he placed a heated blanket on Scully’s back. He instructed her to get into a robe and the esthetician who was filling in for Lisa would be in soon. Scully felt a tinge of disappointment when Jeffrey left her and she would chalk this experience of pampering into wasted would-be intel.

What she had was another confirmation from a local person that the Bigfoot tour was unsafe and Mulder’s discussions with Greene that morning outside the post office confirmed that the local police department wasn’t furthering the investigation into the murders of Jennifer and Carson Middleton. The hair and fibres found on the bodies of these latest victims were synthetic however four hairs found belonged to a Black-headed Spider Monkey.

After their shower and as Scully was blowdrying her hair, she pointed out that spider monkeys were native to Columbia and not Vail, Colorado. Regardless, she could see Mulder attempting to piece it together. She was waiting for him to suddenly decide that a local they had met once was the killer but she was also certain he wasn’t going to leave Vail without at least attempting to see the simian creature they were seeking. Mulder wanted a paranormal aspect to their investigation, especially if there was a cover-up involved. He believed every community that put on a front like the one Vail had was hiding a seedy underbelly.

He didn’t believe in the American dream but how could he when his parents were key players in creating the illusion with the dark shadow in the background waiting to rip his family apart? Maybe he ran from and then sought a love so fiercely because he was attempting to fix the wrongs of his parents. At this point, Mulder had yet to find answers to his sister’s disappearance. Once he found that what else was there for him?

She didn’t anticipate him hanging up his night vision goggles and retiring from the FBI. Sometimes that worried her since she did want to see an end to this job. She didn’t want to have a home that darkness attempted to invade in their older years.

Maybe that would be their fate no matter what their occupations.

If they were any other two people, they might think about the future as in family and marriage. What did Mulder want? She didn’t know, honestly. Would they try to adopt kids? What kind of future were they capable of outside the X-Files if the questions of the universe and the conspiracies of the planet weren’t weighing heavily on them? As much as she longed for a family, and she wanted Mulder in her life, she wasn’t sure if those two things went together. These were questions she hadn’t contemplated in other relationships until they brought it up - _where are we_ going _Dana? What do you want from us?_ And she never knew. With Mulder she was certain she wanted him and everything else would find a way to be good for them.

Scully made as much small talk as she could with the fill-in esthetician, Marie, through her facial and body scrub. Though her heavy Quebecois accent was thick, they managed to discuss the length that Marie had worked at the resort. She arrived that year with her girlfriend, worked full time at the resort and waitressed on the weekends at a pub. Marie told Scully this was a temporary gig as the last resort town she had lived in and the one before that.

It made Scully contemplate about the end of her time with the FBI. Would it be because of a happy retirement to move on to work in the field of science where her underlying passions lay or would it be because of a scandal?

“We, uh, wax now?” Marie asked with her heavy Quebecois accent as the facial ended. “I will open your robe and put a towel across your area.”

Scully nodded and waited for the partially humiliating part of this procedure to begin. As Marie looked at Scully’s groin, she must have noticed the slight bruising and the women made eye contact.

“I had an altercation with-”

Marie held up a gloved hand. “It’s okay. I have no judgements.”

“I’m a medical doctor,” Scully attempted again. “A patient attacked me.”

Marie glanced down to where the slight bruising across Scully’s front and then back up to her face. “Did he do that to your face and your back?”

Scully nodded.

“What happened to him?”

“He’s dead,” she replied and regretted it.

“Je suis heureux,” Marie nodded once.

“Are you?” she asked, understanding the French.

“Any man who hits a woman deserves to be put down,” Marie replied with a half-shrug that made it more nonchalant. “Violence is not the act of bravery but cowardice.”

“Sounds more poetic in your accent,” Scully noted.

Marie put a bit of the hot wax along Scully’s pelvic area where the short hairs grew. She put a piece of the Muslin over the thick spread, pushed her hand along to ensure the fabric grabbed the hair and wax and counted. “Un, deux, trois, ouis.”

Her hand ripped the strip off and Marie placed her hand on the skin to soothe it immediately.

“Son of a bitch!” Scully cried out.

“Wait until I do the lips,” Marie replied with a smile. “You’ll be screaming tabernac.”

“ _Jesus_ ,” she sighed.

“Exactement,” Marie said.

  
*** ***

They had been at the Bully Ranch for three hours and had not seen much of anyone or anything. The evening crowd was busier than the night before however Lisa and her fiancé Doctor Horton were nowhere to be seen. Bristol and Martinez were supposed to be coming by the restaurant that night as a part of the cover the FBI was still investigating but she hadn’t spotted them either. Outside on the patio were patrons huddling around gas heaters, smoking cigarettes that called to her stress coping need. She thumbed the spot on her middle finger where she used to cradle the cigarette. The last time she indulged was before her cancer when she felt particularly stressed with Mulder. That felt like a lifetime ago. It was such a nasty habit but that was part of what made it so satisfying.

Scully shifted on her barstool, crossed and uncrossed her legs. She adjusted her position and crossed her legs while making a face of obvious discomfort.

“What’s your issue?” Mulder asked her quietly and he took a sip of his beer.

“I’m cold,” she replied.

Mulder laid his arm across the back of her stool casually and yet so possessively. It was hardly an act since this was how he behaved before their involvement at diners, restaurants and police stations. She thought it was strange people assumed they were a couple until she became acutely aware of every touch.

He rubbed his palm up and down her arm. “Put your coat on.”

“Not there,” she replied and glanced down to her legs. “She did all of it.”

Mulder’s face lit up and he smiled at her with absolute delight. “You mean-”

“ _Yes_ ,” she replied quietly. “I’m not trying to be crude here-”

“Please do,” he interrupted happily as his arm swung from behind her to place a hot hand on her lap. His palm began to inch up her thigh. “Please be as crude as possible.”

“I’m naked down there,” she whispered through clenched teeth. “And this chair, as much as I move around, isn’t warming up.”

She could see his utter delight and she could only imagine the things floating through his mind.

“Why didn’t you tell me when you got back from your appointment?” he asked as he looked behind her to try to spot Troy. He wasn’t there when they sat at the bar and Mulder had got a lot of useful information from him. They were planning to book the Bigfoot tour tomorrow but Mulder wanted to ask him a few more questions. “Sophie?”

“I was hoping you might just discover it tomorrow,” she told him and looked down at her hands as she pushed them between her legs to warm up. “I think this is a psychosomatic reaction.”

Mulder looked at her. “How do you mean, Sophie?”

“I have done this a few times before-” she began.

“ _Really_?” he leered.

“And I always feel _exposed_ afterwards,” she continued, ignoring his excitement.

“When did you… how often… I mean…”

“Try to _breathe_ , Mitchell,” Scully smiled.

“I’m breathing fine, it’s the other parts of my body that have less blood flow because of-” he started.

“We’re in public,” she cut him off.

“Then why did you tell me about your thing?” he asked her.

“She was French-Canadian too,” Scully murmured.

“I have to focus on the assignment,” he told her and leaned in to speak quietly in her ear. “But I really want to give you a full and proper kiss to those new bald lips of yours.”

She felt her cheeks flush.

“He’s outside!” a patron holding a cigarette shouted in from the doorway to the patio area. “Bigfoot! _Holy shit_ it’s Bigfoot!”

There was a scramble in the bar for everyone to run outside to see what the man was calling about. There were bodies shoving against Scully as she tried to make it through the crowd and she lost sight of Mulder. As she rounded the bar near the bathrooms, she was knocked down onto her back. Her sight went blurry after the back of her head knocked against the tile floor and she looked up to see a dark figure above her.

 _No_ , she thought. _I killed him._

The hands grabbed at her as she tried to push the figure off and she cried out for Mitchell. Her sweater was ripped at the collar and his other hand pulled the button off her trousers. Scully tried to push his hands off of her and she felt fear bubble up inside her unexpectedly.  
  
There was too much commotion going on and she couldn’t see his face with the pocket light shining behind his head. She smelled cigarettes and cedar wood. It wasn’t Pfaster.

“Mitchell!” she screamed again. She didn’t have her gun.

Suddenly a tall man pushed the figure off of her and she could focus on her would-be-saviours face. Agent James Bristol was pushing a man off of Scully and shoving him back against a wall. Scully rolled over onto her front and attempted to stand up but her arms felt weak.

 _Not again_ , her mind screamed.

She looked up to see the altercation between the men. Both were comparable in size and Bristol swung at Scully’s attacker. His fist made contact with the attacker’s eye and he swore. The shadowy figure swung at Bristol and he ducked expertly. Her attacker shoved Bristol down beore he escaped through the kitchen door near them. Bristol was obviously torn between chasing after her attacker and helping Scully.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” Bristol asked.

They made eye contact as a waitress came around the corner to see Scully huddled on the ground.

“Are you okay, miss?” the waitress asked. “Is this man-”

“I’m with the FBI,” Bristol interrupted and pulled out his badge. “A man just attacked her and took off through your kitchen. You might want to call the local PD.”

The waitress nodded and disappeared to use the phone behind the bar.

“Are you okay?” Bristol asked.

Scully was clutching her stomach and trying to breathe. “I think…” she heaved. “I think… I cant…”

Bristol helped her to stand and he put his arm around her. “I’m going to get you to a hospital.”

“My…husband…” The words sounded strange to say but they were still trying to maintain her cover and Bristol understood that.

“I’ll call him when we get there,” Bristol said as he walked her through the restaurant.

Scully’s mind began to shout at her in bullet points to attempt to find a break in the water over her head. She felt like she was drowning in a panic state and Mulder was no where to be found. She had Bristol. He was an FBI agent. He was trained to jump into action and step in when needed. He wouldn’t hurt her. He was helping her. Scully’s mind screamed for a quiet through the fear and anger she was experiencing.

Scully allowed Bristol to take her to his FBI issued car and they drove in sullen silence to the Vail hospital three blocks away.


	7. Recovery

The sound of his blood pumping was rushing through his ears and he felt a surge of excitement that usually occurred when he was hoping to see the thing he would try to convince Scully of later.

The crowd was thick but he managed to push his way through towards the door and he called back for Sophie to keep up. He found his way into the night air that only felt less chilled from the huddle of bodies around him attempting to see it.

“Where is it?” someone called out. “I don’t see it!”

People pushed into Mulder as he exited the restaurant and he tried to look over the heads of where people were pointing to.

“ _Hoax_!” another voice called from behind Mulder but the crowd pushed forward.

It was a hustle to get to the front and he was tempted to start being aggressive but the cold air of the Denver mountains kept some people back.

“There!” a woman called and everyone looked in the direction of her voice.

“Where?” Mulder shouted as he looked frantically for a sign of something.

All he saw in the distance was buildings and the streets beyond the patio.

“Off to the right!”

He pushed his way forward as a small crowd flushed its way out onto the patio. He shuffled through the uneven snowy ground. To the right of where he was standing and approximately thirty feet away walked a large creature.

“Holy _shit_ ,” he muttered.

“Where?” the woman next to him asked and he realized that wasn’t his partner.

Mulder pointed in the direction of where the large creature was walking. No one approached it. No one attempted to call out to it. The entire crowd watched in stunned silence as the creature walked up East Meadow Drive past the Claggett-Rey Gallery and toward the Alpenrose restaurant.

It disappeared around the corner and the crowd fell into a silence. Dressed in a sweater and no jacket, Mulder ran toward the edge of the patio area and tried to follow where the creature was going. It moved just like a human and the fur was thick. In the dark night, he could clearly see it walking with a sense of longing and purpose. What was it doing out there?

He wanted to approach it but he knew that his history with creatures such as these usually ended with him being mauled to some degree. Mulder jumped over the edge of the patio area and took four steps through the thick snow.

“Hey, Bigfoot!” a man’s voice yelled from behind him and the creature ran. “Hey! Get out of here!”

Mulder looked behind him and only saw other patrons from the bar but no Scully. When he turned back, the creature had disappeared and Mulder pumped his fist in frustration. Slowly he walked back toward the pub doors and he looked through the crowd.

Staff members, residents and tourists of Vail stood talking with each other and ignoring the cold night air. Mulder looked around for the familiar red hair of his partner but only saw blonde and brunettes. The fiery red of her auburn locks and his height usually helped when Mulder needed to find her.

When he returned to their spot at the bar, Scully’s purse was gone but her jacket was still there. He walked toward the bathrooms and knocked twice before looking inside. The stalls and chambers were empty. He went to the family bathroom down the hall and that was empty too.

He felt a funny feeling creeping inside him. As he continued to look around the bar, he suddenly felt sick. The hopeful side of his personality spoke up. She would be fine. He was gone from her for maybe two minutes.

“Have you seen my wife?” Mulder asked a waitress as he walked inside the restaurant. “She’s five three, red hair and she had on a…. blue sweater?”

The waitress nodded. “A man took her out of here during the commotion.”

“ _What_?” he asked suddenly panicked. “What man?”

“A big guy,” the waitress offered. “Said he was with the FBI.”

“Where did he take her?” he asked as he grabbed the woman by her upper arms. “What happened?”

“ _Hey_!” she cried out and Mulder let go of her. “ _Jeeze_.”

“Where’s my wife?” he asked again.

“The FBI man said she had been attacked. He took off through the kitchen and we called the police,” the waitress said. “He took her to the ER.”

“What FBI man?” Mulder asked impatiently.

“Tall, black guy? I don’t know,” the woman guessed. “Flashed me his badge and told me to call 911 before he practically carried her out of here.”

Mulder stood up straight and his jaw clenched in anger. “I need to pay our tab.”

The waitress pulled up their bill on the computer system and Mulder put two twenties on the counter. He grabbed the bill and put on his jacket. He held Scully’s jacket in one hand as he fished the keys of his car out of the pocket of his jeans. The snow was annoying against his legs as he tried to rush toward his car on South Frontage Road.

Eventually, he reached his vehicle and Officer Tim Greene pulled up next to him in a police issue SUV.

“Did you see it?” Greene asked as he stepped halfway out of the vehicle.

“What are you doing here?” Mulder asked tensely.

Mulder’s mind was screaming. If there cover was threatening to be blown by Greene right now-

“I got a call there was an altercation at the Bully Ranch,” Greene replied.

“I have to find Sc-Sophie,” Mulder said with an almost misstep on her name.

“What _happened_?” Greene asked.

“She was attacked during the commotion, I guess. I don’t know,” Mulder said as he fiddled with his keys. “We were at the Bully Ranch when someone said Bigfoot was outside. We got separated… Some guy knocked her down and I think Bristol took her to the ER.”

Greene turned his engine off. “I’ll interview the waitress and meet you at the hospital. What about Rick?”

“I don’t know?” Mulder said as he searched for his keys.

“I’ll call him too,” Greene offered.

Mulder nodded and finally unlocked his side door. He drove the three minutes up the street to Vail Valley Medical Centre and parked his SUV adjacent to the building.

When he entered the lobby outside the ER, he realized he couldn’t flash his badge and demand answers. Why didn’t Bristol call him? Why didn’t Scully call him? He felt his frustrations beginning to mount.

_Fuck this undercover assignment!_

He approached the desk and looked at the nurse. “Hi, uh my wife Sophie Robinson might have been brought into the ER?”

The nurse looked at him expectantly. “Might have?”

Mulder reached into his pocket to find his fake ID and held up the driver’s license with his undercover name on it. “Petite, red hair, might swear like a sailor if she’s been injured?”

The nurse looked down the list of patients recently admitted. “Yes….”

“Is she here?” Mulder asked impatiently.

“She’s here,” the nurse confirmed. “I’ll get a candy striper to show you to her bed.”

Mulder knocked his right fist on top of his left fist while he waited and caught the warning look from the nurse. He smiled tightly. “Sorry.”

The nurse hung up the phone. “Someone will be right over if you want to have a seat in the chairs.”

Mulder walked toward the chairs but out of protest chose to stand. He had faced barriers in his work but he was always able to get to her.

“Mr. Robinson?” a voice called and he looked over to a young man holding a clipboard. “I can take you back to your wife.”

“ _You’re_ the candy striper?” Mulder asked.

“We love breaking down gender stereotypes here,” the young man responded with a smile. He looked down at his clipboard. “Your wife is in curtain five. She was cleared from a concussion although her doctor would like her to have a CT scan anyway. A police officer is on his way.”

“Is the FBI agent still here?” Mulder asked as they walked through the doors into the ER and the young man nodded.

“They’ve been here ten minutes,” the young man said in a deadpan monotone and Mulder took the hint to calm down.

Down the first hallway and to the right, they spotted Bristol before they saw Scully. The curtain was drawn around her examination area and Mulder’s heart sunk.

“Where is she?” Mulder asked as he sped up toward Bristol.

Bristol glanced to the candy striper and back to Mulder. “I’m James Bristol with the FBI and I’m the agent that brought her in.”

Mulder shook his head as he realized the cover they were still trying to maintain and extended his hand. “Mitchell Robinson.”

“Your wife was attacked by an unknown assailant near the restrooms at the Bully Ranch,” Bristol told Mulder as though he was any other husband. “My partner was not able to apprehend the attacker though we did get a good look at him.”

“I guess it was lucky you were there,” Mulder muttered.

“Mitchell?” Scully called weakly.

She sounded so small and his stomach felt tight again.

Mulder glanced up at Bristol before he pulled the curtain back slightly and ducked inside the examination area. Scully was laying on a hospital gurney with an ice pack against her head and a weak smile on her face.

“Are you okay, S-Sophie?” Mulder asked almost tripping over their cover.

Scully nodded and pulled her hand from the ice pack to reach out to him. Out of the corner of his eye, Mulder saw the nurse inside with Scully smiled down at her chart as he crossed the small space to hug his pseudo-wife.

“I thought I was having another panic attack,” she whispered in his ear. “I’m okay, though.”

She felt so small in his arms and he kissed the side of her head.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I ran out to see this-”

“Mitchell,” she cut him off and his guilt overwhelmed him. He started to let go but her grip on him tightened. “Not yet.”

“Okay,” he whispered and held on a little tighter. “I’m sorry.”

“Folks?” Bristol called through the curtain and he poked his head in. His eyebrows raised when he saw them embracing. “Uh, sorry…”

The nurse cleared her throat. “A doctor will be along shortly.”

Mulder stood up as the nurse was leaving. He held Scully’s hand as she returned the other one to the ice pack at the back of her head. Bristol shifted on his feet before stepping inside the area.

“I wanted to know if you remembered anything from the attack,” he said in a tone that was half formal, half informal.

Mulder looked down at Scully. “He didn’t ask you this before?”

Scully shook her head and tried to sit up. Mulder noticed a tear in her sweater collar and his jaw clenched again. “I’m fine…”

“What happened?” he asked.

“I was admitted right away,” she told him and she pulled on the collar of her sweater that had been torn. “The doctor did a preliminary examination while a nurse took my vitals. James waited outside.”

 _James?_ Mulder thought.

“When Greene gets here, he might ask for your clothes,” Bristol told her.

“Why?” Mulder asked.

“So they can see if any trace-”

“Twelve murders go unsolved and you think they’re going to care about a woman being knocked down in a bar?” Mulder whispered angrily to Bristol.

“Mitchell-” Scully started.

Bristol shook his head. “If they don’t, I will. I was there and I’ll open a case file.”

Bristol and Mulder maintained eye contact for a beat and Mulder felt his temper cool.

“So what happened?” he asked Scully gently.

“I was going around the corner of the bar to the exit,” she began and her eyes focused on her feet on the bed. “Someone knocked me down. Tore my shirt and my pants.”

“I came in right as the altercation began,” Bristol said. “I grabbed him off of her and knocked him into the wall. I got a right hook in before he tried to swing at me and shoved me as I was coming up.”

“He knew how to handle himself,” Mulder noted about Scully’s assailant.

Bristol and Scully nodded in agreement. The hospital was unusually quiet and Mulder listened for doctors or nurses around them. Mostly it was nonsensical chatter and discussions about plans for after their shifts.

“Do you have a concussion?” he asked.

“They ruled that out pretty quickly but I’m going for a CT scan,” Scully replied.

“What changed your mind?” Mulder asked.

“Consequences for untreated head traumas are often more problematic than the simple act of the scan-” she began.

Mulder had heard that speech more times than he could count when he tried to avoid getting checked out after a head injury. He could almost recite it word for word but it sounded more convincing from her. Maybe it was because when she told people she was a medical doctor they still seemed shocked and knowledge spilled from her lips like the diatribe of paranormal facts he could recite. Except the difference between what they talked about was that she was credible.

“I think you’re fine but I’m glad you’re getting checked out anyway,” he teased. She shook her head with a smile and he kissed the back of her hand. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”

“I wish I got a better look at him, Mitchell,” she said with an obvious frustration. “I can’t… I just remember he was large. Maybe… bigger than James. I know he smelled like cigarettes and cedar wood.”

Bristol made a noise. “That’s specific.”

“This might not be something they train male FBI agents but women usually are told to remember certain details if and when they’re attacked,” she replied almost bitterly. Mulder squeezed her hand and kissed her knuckles again. “I didn’t get a good look at his face. The lights above him were making his face too dark to get any details.”

“I’m not expecting you to be able to ID your attacker,” Mulder reassured her and she nodded. “If anything comes to you, we can tell Agent Bristol.”

“He was a male, twenty to twenty five years of age, dark hair and about my height,” Bristol told them. “It’s not much but I might be able to pick him out of a line up.”

“If we can get one,” Mulder muttered.

“Did you see it?” Bristol asked Mulder and he hesitated to answer. “The creature that all the commotion was about?”

Mulder shrugged. “I saw something that stood over six feet tall that didn’t move like a man or an animal. If we’re talking about a simian creature, my best guess would be that it was authentic but I’m not willing to write that in a report just yet.”

“What would it be doing in town?” Bristol asked.

“I don’t know,” Mulder said. “Most animals keep their distance from populated areas such as these with the instinct for self-preservation.”

“The attacks were all in the wooded areas outside of town,” Scully pointed out in a low voice.

“Which makes me suspect whatever I saw wasn’t authentic,” Mulder replied.

“You two really know how to dance around an idea,” Bristol muttered.

“We just like to find a common truth,” she replied and glanced up at Mulder with a look of embarrassment. “I want to go home.”

“I’ll go check on the doctor,” Mulder offered.

Bristol and Mulder exited the small curtain area as Greene was approaching with his hat tucked under his arm. For show, Mulder and Greene introduced themselves and Greene told them he was there to take a statement about the attack.

“Do you think this will go anywhere?” Mulder asked Greene.

Greene pulled out his notebook from his jacket front pocket. “I will try to get something. I’ll want to take your statement also, James.”

Bristol nodded and they watched Greene awkwardly enter the examination area. Their FBI contact offered to get them coffee while they waited on a doctor and Mulder agreed to join him. This would be one of the only times they could meet in public like this.

Martinez met them at the coffee kiosk near the gift shop where the three men discussed what happened. As he took a sip of the bitter brew, he watched as a young man entered the hospital with a hand over his left eye.

Mulder cleared his throat and nodded his chin toward the man. “Could that be our guy?”

Bristol casually looked over his shoulder to the admittance desk where the man was giving his name and asking for an ice pack for his eye.

He stood at six feet tall, young and had dark hair. Mulder hadn’t seen him before but the look on Bristol’s face was one of immediate recognition.

“Hey!” Bristol called.

He set his paper cup on top of the trash bin and crossed the lobby. Mulder put his cup next to Bristol’s and ran after him.

The young man looked up and threw the ice pack in their direction before running out of the front doors to the ER. The nurse was yelling after the young man that he forgot his ID while Bristol took off into the cold night after their suspect. Martinez followed suit.

Mulder approached the nurse’s desk where she was still holding up his ID. He took the ID from her and while she protested to Mulder, he ignored her and went to find Greene and Scully.

“Excuse me!” the nurse called after Mulder.

“Thanks!” he called back over his shoulder.

Greene was still inside the examination area when Mulder entered holding the ID of the elusive Andrew Horton.

“Is this him?” Mulder asked Scully as he handed over the Colorado driver’s license.

Scully looked at the small picture on the ID. “Maybe?”

“He just came in with a swollen eye and ran when he saw Bristol and Martinez,” Mulder said.

“Andrew Horton?” Mulder mused. “Any relation to Doc Horton who works here at the hospital?”

“In a small town like Vail? Can’t be too many people with the same last name,” Scully mused.

“I guess we’ll find out,” Mulder said.

“You won’t, I will,” Greene stated. He took the ID gently from Mulder and tucked it into his notebook. He put the pad back inside his jacket before donning his hat. “I think I’ve got what I need from your statement, Mrs. Robinson. I’ll contact you if I have any further questions.”

Mulder made a face at Scully and she shook her head. “This is beyond frustrating.”

He sat on the edge of her hospital bed and she rubbed his leg comfortingly. It was nice to be able to touch freely like this under the guise of their cover, even if they had the privacy of the curtain.

“I guess now we know how it feels to be on the other side of things,” she mused and he let out a sigh of frustration. “What?”

“I almost ran after this thing,” he told her and her eyebrows shot up. “But I realized that I didn’t know where you were and I was worried.”

“You’ve never done that before,” she told him with a slow smile. “Usually you just leave me in the dust.”

Mulder wiped a hand along his jaw. “Yeah, I’m trying to be less of a horses ass but it’s a long road.”

Scully chuffed. “I’m painfully aware of that.”

“I think you’ve said that before,” he said teasingly and he took her hand in his. “Were you scared?”

She nodded. “It wasn’t expected. He knocked me down and was grabbing at my clothing.”

“If it is that guy we saw, I might need to be restrained,” Mulder told her and he brought her hand to his lips.

He kissed her knuckles softly and she watched his lips. They held eye contact for a beat and he felt the urge to ruin it with a sarcastic remark. It must have been written all over his face because she smirked at him.

“You want to say something,” she noted with a smile.

“Something about running the scanning machine myself but I was going to refrain since you’ve had a bad night,” he admitted.

“I appreciate it,” she replied.

“I can’t do the other thing I want to do so the wry humour you’ve come to love and adore is my only other option,” he replied.

“The other thing?” she asked and an eyebrow arched in that way that always drove him nuts.

“Knock knock,” a voice interrupted before Mulder could reply.

Scully seemed to stiffen at this doctor’s entrance and she gripped Mulder’s fingers a little tighter. He looked over his shoulder to see a face he recognized but couldn’t place where. Suddenly, it dawned on him. The Brawny man.

He was maybe 6’3” and Mulder guessed he was about 200 lbs. Troy was right, Dr. Horton probably would be useful if a bar fight broke out. Mulder immediately assessed by his posture and stance that he possibly knew how to box. It wasn’t often other men made Mulder feel short but this guy had a few inches and twenty pounds on him.

“I know you,” Mulder said in a false happy tone.

Doctor Horton smiled tightly. “Do you?”

“We saw you at the Bully Ranch last night,” he said, pointing his finger at the doctor. “You’re a psychologist, right? What are you doing here?”

“I got a call your wife was going for a CT scan,” Dr. Horton replied. Mulder could hear the false politeness in his tone and could sense he didn’t appreciate being questioned. “I was going to take her up myself since we seem to have a shortage of nurses tonight.”

Mulder patted Scully’s knee with his free hand. “See the small town hospitality, honey?”

Scully smiled tightly.

“My wife, even being a doctor, has nerves about these kinds of things,” Mulder said to Dr. Horton. “Mind if I tag along for morale?”

The doctor shook his head as if to say it was fine and he gestured to a wheelchair outside Scully’s examination area to take her to radiology.

“Mind if I drive?” Mulder offered.

“Not at all,” Dr. Horton replied and they made their way toward the bank of elevators to take them to radiology.

** **

It was around three o’clock in the morning when they arrived back at the townhouse and Scully fell asleep on the drive back with a bottle of ibuprofen in her hand.

Even though her CT scan was clear for signs of a concussion, Dr. Horton asked Scully to drop by his office tomorrow morning for a follow-up. Scully agreed quickly and explained once they were in the car that she felt suspicious of him. At the very least, she might be able to ask him about the Bigfoot tour they planned to go on. If Dr. Horton and Scully’s suspected attacker were related, that was also a possible avenue they could explore for their investigation.

Mulder argued for about four minutes on the drive back to their townhouse that they should postpone their outing until he realized he was talking to himself and Scully was fast asleep.

It took little effort to get her out of the car and carry her into the house. He was able to get their boots off with ease before he carried her upstairs to bed. She didn’t stir when he helped her out of her jacket. The tear in her sweater and the missing button on her trousers made his jaw clench and his hand ball into a fist.

Finding Bigfoot would be important as tangible proof their work had legitimacy in more than just little grey men but it couldn’t cost Scully her safety.

“Mulder,” she whispered and her eyes fluttered open. “Come to bed.”

“I just wanted to get you out of those clothes,” he said as he held up one of her night shirts.

Scully slowly sat up and took off her sweater. Mulder put it in a plastic bag he found under the bathroom sink and took her trousers. He would take them to Denver to be checked for trace evidence himself even knowing if they got anything from them, it was circumstantial at best.

Martinez and Bristol would be getting a call from Mulder when they woke up, as would Greene. He and Scully were putting their necks on the line with this assignment and something as simple as a follow-up would be nice.

“Mulder,” she said again as she held up her trousers. “I think you’re asking a lot to get something off those.”

“I’m going to ask them to try,” he said as he put the pants inside the bag.

As Scully climbed under the covers, he set the bag on the dresser across the bed from them and undressed as well. When he climbed into the bed next to her, she felt cold to the touch.

“Are you okay?”

“Just cold,” she assured him but the break in her voice told him that was not entirely true.

Mulder pressed his body against hers and wrapped around her. “Better?”

“Thank you,” she whispered embarrassedly.

He kissed her cheek and held back the ideas swimming in his head. He wanted to beg her to quit while she could and live some semblance of a normal life. He knew she wouldn’t quit without him and he couldn’t quit until he found answers about his sister.

Guilt overtook his mind as sleep entered. That night he dreamt of Bigfoot and the Brawny man Dr. Horton running through the woods. It was not a restful sleep.

*** ***

Mulder woke up to the sound of Scully humming in the bathroom and the water running as the tub filled. The sunlight was streaming through the windows and his head was pounding. It had been a long night and the stress from Scully’s attack was weighing on him.

It was lucky that Agent Bristol was there for her and he had staggering guilt over not being able to be the one who stopped it. His first thought was, why did it happen at all?

He got out of bed and used the bathroom down the hall before going downstairs to get coffee ready. When he came back upstairs, he heard the water had stopped running and he wondered if Scully had left the door slightly ajar for company or because closed doors had bothered her since being locked inside her own closet just over a week ago.

Holding both mugs in one hand, Mulder knocked gently on the door. “Scully?”

“Mitchell?” she called back quietly.

“Sophie,” he corrected himself and pushed the door open slightly with his foot.

Her panties were sitting on the floor with her night shirt and she was submersed in a tub full of bubbles. If she hadn’t been attacked only the night before, he would have dropped his trousers and jumped in with her without question.

“Coffee?” he offered and felt his cock stir in his boxers.

Scully must have noticed because she grinned and held out one soapy hand. “Thanks.”

“Mind if I brush my teeth?” he asked.

She shook her head before taking a tentative sip of her coffee. “Thank you.”

He set his coffee down on the counter of the sink and picked up his brush. His eyes were drawn to her body in the water and she looked up at him questioningly.

“I thought… you wanted us…” Mulder shook his head and stuck his toothbrush in his cheek. “Never mind.”

“I thought about waking you but you were finally sleeping,” Scully replied. She set her coffee on the edge of the tub where her leg had been propped up just the day before as he pushed in and out of her. She relaxed against the tub and sighed. “You had been mumbling about Bigfoot in your sleep.”

Mulder paused the movements of his toothbrush and looked at her quizzically. He asked through a mouthful of toothpaste, “I did?”

Scully pulled her lips tight and nodded. She opened one eye and shook her head. “I think you needed the rest.”

“How are you feeling?” he asked with a frothy mouth.

“Fine,” she replied automatically.

Mulder spit into the sink and looked at her expectantly.

“I feel… I don’t know, like that wasn’t some senseless attack,” she replied. “I think someone put that kid up to it.”

“That kid was pretty big for a kid,” Mulder scoffed and she nodded in agreement. “Do you think this is connected to the case?”

Scully sat up a little straighter and Mulder attempted to keep his eyes on her face. He did pretty well until she reached for her coffee mug and he blushed when she caught him looking. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because of what happened last night he felt hesitant. He wanted her to feel safe, secure and loved but not pushed. After Pfaster, he had the same worries.

“Sorry,” he said and looked down at the slight swelling in his boxers.

“I’m naked in a tub,” she pointed out. “I might be offended if you didn’t react.”

“I don’t want to push-”

“I’m fine,” she insisted and he tried not to look at her in disbelief. “I’m fine. If it makes you feel any better, I’m going to see Dr. Horton later today.”

“Except that doesn’t make me feel better,” Mulder replied. “I get a bad feeling about him.”

“So did I,” Scully replied. “Which is why I’m going under the guise of this attack but I’ll be trying to find out more about him.”

“Do you think he’s connected?” he asked as he sat on the edge of the tub.

“Vail had seven sexual assaults last year and twelve muggings. Four of the sexual assaults were committed between a man and woman in a previous relationship and the other three were committed by short-term residents,” she began and he nodded, recalling the same statistic as she had in their case file. “Do you know what they all had in common?”

Mulder shook his head and tossed his toothbrush onto the counter. The clang of the plastic against the porcelain sink rang in the quiet of the bathroom as she set up her reveal. Scully shook her head at Mulder’s sloppiness but held back a comment about the action.

“I’ll put it in the thing later,” he promised.

Scully continued, “Each patient saw Dr. Horton after their attack.”

“How can we connect this to our case?” Mulder thought out loud.

“I think you should do some digging into his background while I’m there,” Scully replied.

“What if he is connected? What if the guy last night is related and this puts you in harms way?” he asked. Mulder got off the tub and rinsed his mouth out. “I want to call Bristol, Greene or Martinez today about Andrew Horton.”

“Did you check your phone?” she asked as she closed her eyes again.

Mulder wiped at the edges of his mouth. “No, why?”

“I had a message on mine but I haven’t checked it yet,” Scully replied.

Mulder looked once more at her in the tub before he left the bathroom to check his messages. He had just one from Bristol that said they would be coming by the townhouse at noon. The clock said ten forty-five and they had to tidy up their shared spaces in the townhouse to a certain degree.

He also wanted Scully.

When he returned to the bathroom, Scully was using her loofah across her arms and shoulders.

“Christ,” he breathed.

This trip had brought them together in many ways and each time he felt his yearning for another moment for her grow. Deep down, he knew it was the emotional connection that grew the desire he had for her but also, she was so fucking sexy. She had the ability to make his knees weak with a twirl of her tongue or his eyeballs roll in the back of his head with a wiggle of her hips.

She arched her eyebrow at him. “Are you just going to stand there?”

Mulder knelt down next to the tub and dipped his hand in the water. He ran his fingers along the inside until he reached her ankle. She sighed as his thumb and forefinger touched around the bone. His palm pushed up her calf bone and stopped when he reached her knees.

“Have I ever told you that you have really sexy legs?” Mulder asked her as he looked up to her face.

She was laying with her head back against the tub and she found an escape from reality by his touch. She was more than relaxed. Her cheeks were flushed and her tongue was poking out between her lips to tease him.

“I could write a sonnet about these legs, did you know that?” he asked her and she hummed as his fingers moved up from her knees to her thighs. “These legs that you put into stockings and hide in hospital scrubs…”

“A sonnet?” she asked as she opened her eyes to see if he was teasing or being serious.

The look on his face was only desire and not one of jest. She looked visibly moved by the evident desire on his face and she shifted her thighs apart slightly.

“I’m actually the worst at poetry but you make a man feel lyrical,” he said and they smiled at each other. His fingers brushed up her thighs and she closed her eyes again. “I like watching your face while I do this… Just touching a little.”

Her teeth caught her bottom lip between them and she moaned as his fingers reached the apex of her folds. The difference between the water and the slickness of her sex was obvious to a man who could and would spend hours devoted to making it that way. Her lips were slightly swollen and she moaned as one finger dipped tentatively into her folds.

Silently, he brought his finger up between her lips and to her clit. Her knees jerked as the pad of his finger circled it once quickly then twice.

“Oh,” she breathed as his middle finger inserted inside her.

“Is this okay?” he asked as his finger pushed up to the hilt.

Through the soapy water, he couldn’t see what he was touching and that was half the fun. The other half was watching her face as she experienced the euphoria of it. Her back arched and her breasts moved up and out of the water.

Her hips began to grind against his hand and she whimpered at the need for her release. Her body moved like that over and over again as his thumb circled her clit and his fingers moved in and out of her. Every thrust made her tighten around the two fingers he moved inside of her.

“Like that?” he asked and she moaned loudly.

Mulder grabbed his aching member and she glanced to him as he stroked himself once through his underwear.

“Don’t make yourself come,” she whispered. “I want to… Oh god… Mulder, I want to do that for you.”

“You are doing that for me,” he growled but his hand slowed against himself to prolong his own need for release.

Scully wasn’t an instrument that was supposed to be played, she was the symphony and he felt like a desperate conductor begging each note out into the air. If he said that out loud, she might laugh at him or tell him that was beautiful. It was the way she kept him guessing, never being consistent and always pushing the boundary. For a woman of hard science and routine, she would hardly do what was expected.

Just when he thought she might need more, her hand slammed on the edge of the tub. Her mug fell to the floor and the edge chipped as the remainder of her coffee spilled by Mulder’s knees on the bathmat.

“Don’t stop!” she cried out as the water sloshed.

He didn’t stop. He was too committed to seeing it through and watching her undoing. Every time it felt the same around him but it felt new and different to experience with her. She never felt uniform to him. He wondered as her walls clenched around his fingers that maybe that’s what the mind tricked his body into believing. As long as their passions burned brightly for each other, this would always feel distinct from every other time.

As he watched her jaw drop and she gripped the edge of the tub, he knew this would not be something his life would ever tire of.

Mulder’s fingers left her body and she sighed. When she opened her eyes to see him watching her, he was surprised when a tear rolled down her cheek.

He used the hand that had been gripping his cock through his boxer shorts to wipe the tear away.

“Why?”

“You take care of me,” she said with a shrug and an embarrassed laugh. “Selflessly and surprisingly.”

She pulled one hand under the water and the sound of the drain opening to empty the tub gurgled into the quiet space of the bathroom.

“I have some selfish aspirations,” he admitted as he watched the water drain and her body reveal to him. “But I’m patient.”

He took the hand that was resting between her thighs and he helped her stand up. Scully crouched down to pick up the chipped mug and set it on the bathroom sink next to his.

“I suppose that’s coming out of our damage deposit,” she said looking at the mug.

“I’ll get some superglue and put it at the back of the cupboard,” he offered. “Maybe they won’t notice.”

Scully used a wad of Kleenex to mop up the small puddle of coffee and tossed it expertly into the trash bin.

“Do you ever miss?” he asked with a smile as she pulled a towel around her body. “Your success rate battles Iverson.”

“I don’t know who that is,” she told him with a sigh and glanced down to Mulder’s cock that was still tenting in his shorts. “Do you want to do something about that now?”

Before Mulder could answer his obvious desire for yes, she pushed him towards the sink and she sunk to her knees.

Of the many times Scully had done this very wonderful thing for him, his eyes grew wide every time and he felt the awe and shock she would do a thing he had fantasized about more times than he cared to admit to her. It was always better than the fantasy because instead of his hand stroking him, her hot mouth would coax him into oblivion. Mulder knew what would be next as her fingers pulled the waistband of his boxers slowly down his legs.

Anticipation toward a thing you didn’t know you longed for was the sweetest kind. The slow build up to their first almost kiss outside his hallway became material for masturbatory practices after that event. The desire he had for her but never acted on was so strong in that moment and the fact that nothing happened but almost did happen drove him crazy. When they got back to D.C. and they worked under Kersh, he had to avoid looking at her because the draw to watching her mouth was too great.

Admittedly, he reacted so poorly to not being able to kiss her again because of his own hang ups that he was shocked she allowed him to kiss her at all now.

“You’re a god damned saint,” he sighed as she stroked his cock with her hand. When he looked down to her on knees, with her mouth poised at the head of his dick and ready to take him in, he groaned loudly. “A fucking god damned saint.”

“Watch your language,” she admonished playfully and took him in as far as her mouth would allow.

Her hand held the base of his hardened flesh firmly and her tongue rubbed along the bottom of his shaft. As she swallowed and created a greater suction, the verbal diatribe against the world keeping them apart and adulation for her talents began to flow from his mouth again.

She wouldn’t blame him later on, she never did, but if he brought it up she would look up at him through her long lashes and tell Mulder he was a dirty man.

Her mouth moved up and down his shaft as his fingers held onto the counter for balance. He tried to lock his knees to keep himself upright while his body fought the overwhelming urge to collapse onto the floor.

As she hollowed her cheeks and increased her suction, Mulder felt his eyes roll into the back of his head. He forced himself to open them and look down. He loved to watch as her head moved back and forth. He liked to watch as her coral lips hit her hand at the base of his dick. He felt ten different kinds of pleasure when she looked up at him while she did it.

As she reached the tip, her tongue swirled around his head and flicked the scar along the underside where a mohel had taken his foreskin at ten days old. The sensitivity in that area was acute and Scully, after accumulated hours of research, knew this.

“I… ugh,” he groaned with the words of his confession catching in his throat.

She told him a few weeks ago that making him speechless had given her a sense of pride since his silence could be few and far between. Mulder countered that he couldn’t talk while his mouth was busy on her and she conceded his point. After that, they had tried to perform a sixty-nine position but Mulder found what she was doing far too distracting to focus on getting her there. Scully suggested with a laugh they take turns instead of trying to do it at the same time. Mulder told her later that was probably one of the most intimately sexy moments of his life as she laid with her head on his leg and his cock glistening with her saliva and he was inches away from the small patch of trimmed curls around her sex.

At the present moment, as Scully’s jaw was moving up his shaft and she swallowed to create even greater suction, he felt that release approaching. He knew to give her a warning but she could probably feel the precum on her tongue. She moved her head back and flicked the tip of her tongue across his head, circling it before taking him in all the way again. It was too much.

“Fuck… Scully….” he groaned. “I’m…. fuck, I’m close.”

Scully hummed in response and suddenly that thing inside him that was holding out broke. He felt his own release shooting out of him like a bullet that kept firing as she swallowed every ounce.

The way that she did that was reverberated down to his toes. His body felt too relaxed from the release and he would have to fight through a haze of sleepiness for the next twenty minutes.

She released his cock gently and placed a soft kiss on his penis before standing up. She took a sip of his coffee and made a face.

“Are you drinking it black again?”

“I’m trying it,” Mulder said with a shrug.

“I’m all for less sugar in your diet but after that, no offense, I think I need something else,” she replied.

Mulder picked up the chipped mug from the counter. “I’ll go get you a fresh coffee.”

“Like that?” she asked gesturing to his naked form.

Mulder set the mugs down on the counter and pulled his boxers up around his waist. “Better?”

Scully chuffed a laugh and shook her head. “Yeah.”

** ***

Agents Bristol and Martinez sat uncomfortably at the table across from Mulder and Scully while they waited for Deputy Greene to arrive at the station. Their meeting had been changed when Greene called at the last minute to inform them they had some news about Scully’s attack.

Mulder and Scully arrived there under the guise as a couple who had to complete their police report and Scully was asked in to witness a lineup.

The conference room was closed off to the rest of the bullpen at the Eagle County Sheriff’s department but the windows on the room showcased their meeting for everyone to look in on. The sheriff’s department had been less than helpful to Bristol and Martinez but had extended every courtesy to Scully as a tourist who had been attacked at a local favourite hot spot.

Another deputy had offered Scully and Mulder coffee while ignoring Bristol and Martinez’s mere presence. The fact that no one would help the FBI in their investigation into the murders of twelve people was inexplainable.

Greene arrived with a flustered look on his face and a police file in hand. “Sorry folks.”

With the door still open to the bullpen, the act of Mr. and Mrs. Robinson had to be played and their full discussion of the case had to wait. Mulder felt immediately frustrated and wondered if Greene was doing this on purpose.

“How are you feeling today, Mrs. Robinson?” Greene asked.

“Fine,” Scully answered. “What’s in there?”

“We caught up to the young man who ran out of the ER last night,” Greene reported. “We have a lineup arranged for you and Agent Bristol to take a look at.”

“What did he say?” Mulder asked.

“He said he got into a fight at a bar,” Greene said.

“On a Wednesday?” Mulder asked with incredulity. “Which bar?”

“He said he was drinking with friends, got into a tussle outside Bart and Yeti’s,” Greene said. “We haven’t been able to confirm an alibi for him.”

“What do you think?” Bristol asked in a tone that insinuated he was frustrated with the run around also. “Is he the guy?”

Greene gave an almost imperceptible nod.

“Does he have a history of knocking women down in bars?” Scully asked.

Her attack was so random and her mind tried to find some logical connections.

“Nothing that a charge ever stuck,” Greene told him regretfully and the FBI agents scoffed. “I can’t really get into too much more detail. We really should get you folks to do the lineup now so if you don’t ID him, we can let him go.”

“Just one more question, Greene. Does Andrew have any relation to Doctor Horton at the hospital?” Mulder asked and Green hesitated. “Sc- my wife has to see him today for a follow-up. Are they related?”

Greene sighed as he stood up. “Andrew Horton is Doctor Horton’s younger brother.”

Mulder shot to his feet and whispered angrily, “Well you better get me something resembling a family tree and a players card so I know who I have to watch out for besides Bigfoot.”

Scully put her hand on Mulder’s arm that would have appeared completely normal between any couple. Usually those kinds of touches got secondary glances from other agents but they had the cover of their assignment to be open in public.

“Mitchell.”

She said his undercover name as a warning the way she said Mulder. He had heard her warn him in that tone before and it was usually concerning her safety. If anyone encroached on it, he felt wildly territorial and protective. By now she should have understood he could’t help it.

“Agent Bristol if you want to come to the lineup first,” Greene offered.

Bristol followed Greene out of the conference room and Martinez got up to close the door so they had a small amount of privacy.

“What do you think?” Martinez asked them.

“This town has more secrets than the society of over drinking conspirators I grew up with,” Mulder muttered and Martinez made a questioning face. “Can you do some background on the Horton family?”

Martinez sat down across from them. “I did. Want to know what I found out?”

Mulder nodded expectantly and leaned forward on his elbows. “What did you get?”

Martinez flipped open his notebook and took a sip of his coffee before he began. “Lydia and Phillip Horton were both born and raised here in Vail. They met working at an outdoor tour group here in town, they got married, took over the company and raised five kids to work the group year round. Nice family, no drama and the company was doing pretty well until four years ago.”

“What happened four years ago?” Scully asked.

“Phillip Horton had a run of bad business decisions, Lydia left him and their business folded,” Martinez reported. “Lydia is working at a tour group in town with her new guy and Phillip moved to Avon.”

“What tour company?” Mulder asked.

“Horseback riding tour that operates mainly in the spring, summer and fall. They’re closed right now for the winter,” Martinez replied. “I’m going to Avon tomorrow to talk to Phillip.”

“Really?” Scully asked.

“Guy tried to punch my partner,” Martinez said with a shrug. “Assault on a federal officer is a punishable offense.”

“Why were you two at the Bully Ranch last night?” Mulder asked.

“We had been interviewing former Bigfoot tour employees there,” Martinez said. “We finally got some of the people who worked for the company to talk to us.”

“That’s lucky,” Mulder noted.

“What did you find out?” Scully asked.

“Mostly that they all believe Bigfoot is legitimate,” Martinez said and Mulder and Scully exchanged a look. “The consensus is that there is an outsider sabotaging the tour with these murders but none of them wanted to stay on in fear they could be targeted next.”

“This is pretty huge,” Mulder spoke up and Scully nodded in agreement. “We’ll have someone to look for when we go.”

“When do you folks head on the tour?” Martinez asked as he looked between Mulder and Scully.

Mulder wondered if Martinez saw them and their public displays of affection as something they were doing for the job or he suspected the truth about them.

“I finally booked us in for tomorrow,” Mulder said.

Greene entered the conference room just then with Bristol who had an annoyed look on his face. “Mrs. Robinson?”

Scully gave a look to Mulder before leaving on her own with Deputy Greene. Mulder was tempted to go with her for the ID but he wanted to talk to Martinez and Bristol more about the case. However, they weren’t able to discuss much of the case because she returned four minutes later with a shaken expression.

“What happened?” Mulder asked.

“I am certain if they had let me smell them I could have identified him-”

“He’s getting off?” Mulder interrupted.

“I didn’t see his face,” Scully reminded him as she held her arms around herself tightly. She looked at Bristol. “Did you ID him?”

Bristol nodded. “It won’t be enough but Rick and I will have enough to poke into his life a little more.”

Scully nodded again and Mulder gave into the urge to put an arm around her comfortingly. To the outside deputies and officers of the Eagle County Sheriff’s department, they were just having a moment between husband and wife. Mulder could explain it away to Martinez and Bristol as overacting.

The moment of worry in his mind it might appear he was taking liberties with Scully was quelled when she pulled on his jacket with her thumb and forefinger to bring him closer to her.

The expression on her face told him she needed a minute to herself and he gave her arm a squeeze. She excused herself to the bathroom and when she was out of earshot Martinez asked if she was all right.

“Coming off our last case, I’m surprised you’re asking me that,” Mulder said. “She’s doing better than most agents would but that attack last night doesn’t help things.”

“I read the case report,” Bristol said with a hint of admiration. “She’s tough.”

“Stronger than all of us,” Mulder replied. “I have to get her to that appointment. I’ll be in touch, gentlemen.”

 


	8. The Appointment

The sun came out behind the thicket of heavy clouds as they were leaving the police station and Mulder commented how that would be a good omen on their case. Scully called him a ‘superstitious so-and-so’ as a throwback to an inside joke and he shrugged as if to say ‘are you surprised?’

Towards the roundabout at Vail Road and South Frontage Road East, an office building housed an accounting firm, a coffee shop and on the top floor, Doctor Wesley Horton’s psychiatry practice.

Scully left Mulder waiting for her in the coffee shop on the ground floor. She could picture the growing pile of sunflower seeds inside a paper cup and his knee bouncing impatiently. She told him as he leaned in for a kiss to turn off his panic face and he squeezed her backside in response. The beard he had grown since arriving was becoming less prickly and softer as it grew longer. He liked to scratch it against her skin when they were being flirtatious. That would be one thing she might miss about this assignment when they returned to the reality of Washington.

By comparison, the location was more out of the way and less busy than the other places they had visited in Vail. As she sat in Dr. Horton’s third floor office, Scully could hear the phones ringing from the accounting office below her. She told herself that she was making that mental note as an assessment to her possibility of danger. If she could hear the ringing of the phones, they could hear her if she screamed because she was in danger. Sound travelled up, she knew that, however a woman screaming for any reason usually sent people into action.

Scully sat with her back upright and her hands folded in her lap as she sat on the stiff couch in Dr. Horton’s office. The Brawny man, as Mulder called him, sat across from her in an armchair and was writing in the notebook on his lap. There had been little said between them since she arrived ten minutes ago.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Robinson,” Dr. Horton said as he set his pen down. “I should call you Dr. Robinson, my apologies.”

“Sophie is fine too,” Scully told him with a friendly smile. “I’m not at work right now.”

“How are you doing?” he asked.

“Fine,” Scully answered automatically and Dr. Horton’s eyebrow twitched. “I feel fine is what I mean. No concussion or residual fears of the attack repeating.”

Dr. Horton nodded. “I’m glad you’re all right.”

The clock on the wall hanging over the door ticked away as the silence fell between them and Scully tried to think of how he differed from Karen Koseff. He had yet to do the preliminary discussion of why they were there. Every forced meeting she ever had with a psychiatrist wanted to explain why they asked her there, then to assure her that nothing was set in stone and this was just a casual chat. It was a tactic they used to allow patients to feel more at ease and less under scrutiny.

Dr. Horton had asked her in, sat down across from her and began writing in his notebook immediately. If he thought the forced silence would get her to fill the time with chatter about herself, he had another thing coming.

He rubbed his hand across his beard and Scully looked down at the Jungle Red on her fingernails. It seemed like such a ridiculous colour now but she liked the idea of it at the time. If she did colour her nails, it was always a subtle pink or clear coat with white for french tips but never something as bold as red. When she got back to D.C. and before she went in for another lunchtime manicure, she would need to remove the red paint as to not get too many questions from the pushy ladies at her usual salon.

“I heard you mention something about a panic attack at the hospital,” Dr. Horton said as he looked up from his notebook.

Scully narrowed her eyes and was sure Horton wasn’t anywhere near them when she told that to Mulder.

“The nurse mentioned it before I came over,” Dr. Horton replied with a forced smile. “They like to keep me posted on such things I could be needed for.”

Flags were springing up in Scully’s mind and she took a calming breath. _Don’t break your cover now when the case is still locked._

“The reason we came here was to get away from Washington. I had an altercation with a patient and after the assault, I had a panic attack that M-Mitchell, my husband, was able to help me through with a low dosage of Diazepam and his presence. I don’t carry Diazepam with me when we go out because I’ve only had a panic attack once before in my life.”

“Why did you think you were having another one?” Horton asked gently.

Scully hesitated with how truthful to be. “When I was on the floor of the restaurant… I looked up to see only the outline of a man and for a moment I thought it was the man in D.C. who attacked me. My logical brain took over and reminded me that couldn’t be true.”

“For argument’s sake, why not?” Horton asked gently.

Scully knew what he was doing. Questions that are asked to lead the patient through self-discovery and awareness. If you can personally and logically understand why your motivations are what they are, then you can choose directions for yourself that might give you the outcome different than what led you to need the reflection in the first place.

“He’s dead,” Scully replied.

That obviously surprised Dr. Horton and he wrote something in his notebook then closed it sharply. “I didn’t know that.”

“How _could_ you know that?”

“I assumed he was alive… I mean, usually patients that attack doctor’s don’t end up dead,” he said with a lighter tone as though the topic was lighter and Scully nodded in agreement as to hopefully find out more of what he was up to. “Does his death carry with you, Sophie?”

Scully wanted to answer honestly. Donnie Pfaster would have hurt more women had she not shot him. He escaped from prison once before and if had he escaped again, he would have taken more women.

“No, it doesn’t,” she answered honestly about Pfaster and not this supposed attacker from her cover story. “His death was inevitable.”

“Were you scared when he attacked you?” he asked.

“I was afraid,” she admitted quietly. “I was afraid I wouldn’t see my loved ones again but I was also angry that it was happening.”

“Were you kidnapped?” Dr. Horton tried to clarify.

“He had us locked in a room together, I was tied up and while he was looking for the tools to mutilate me with, I managed to get free before he was taken down,” Scully answered.

Most of that was true and it felt nice to express it to someone else that wouldn’t follow her around. This was still an assignment and she didn’t trust Dr. Horton. It escaped her completely as to why not but she didn’t. Something about him made her senses alert and worried her.

“The attack last night-” Scully began with a wavering voice. “It didn’t remind me of what happened in D.C. but it surprised me. In a large city like Washington, I don’t worry for my safety and I assumed a place like Vail wouldn’t have random attacks.”

Dr. Horton sighed. “Well…”

“Well?”

“I don’t want to alarm you but this town thrives on thrill-seeking activities and money grab tours,” Dr. Horton began and she felt a little disappointed at his answer. “This place used to be about the nature and now it’s this place for people to indulge and waste.”

“Are you from here?” she asked.

“Yeah, I grew up here,” Dr. Horton replied. “I thought I was going to have kids that grew up like I did. Camping all summer, horseback riding, nature hikes. I went into psychiatry because I could see how the world was changing even ten years ago.”

“How was it changing?” she asked and hoped it didn’t come across as an interview question.

“You might not see it in a place like D.C. but Vail really was the epitome of the great outdoors. We have everything here but the people abuse it,” he explained with an acerbic tone. “They only go outside if they get a thrill or see something they’re lied to is there.”

“Bigfoot,” Scully said.

Horton shook his head. “Save your money while you’re out here, Dr. Robinson. The tour is a waste of money and not one I would recommend for you.”

“Just for me?” she asked.

“You want to be led around the woods by two lying hippies, you go right ahead,” he told her. “It’s designed for city folk who have little experience in the great outdoors to really appreciate nature and just look at a fake shelter and some footprints. You’re not going to see it.”

“My husband believes we will,” Scully replied. “We’re going tomorrow.”

“For your sake, I hope it’s uneventful,” Dr. Horton told her. He looked at his watch suddenly. “I think you’re all right, Dr. Robinson but if anything else happens while you’re here and you need a chat or some Diazepam, I’d be happy to help you out.”

Scully stood up and gathered her jacket and purse. “Thank you.”

As she exited Dr. Horton’s office, she donned her jacket slowly.

“ _Lisa? She just left._ ” Scully heard the doctor talking through the thin walls, obviously on the phone. “ _No, not them._ ”

Scully took a step back toward the door as she listened.

“ _I don’t think they’re right,_ ” he said. There was a pause. “ _There will be others but not them. They’re not right._ ”

The whole conversation taken out of context sounded bad and she didn’t want to jump to any conclusions.

“ _We’ll find someone else,_ ” Dr. Horton assured her. “ _These ones don’t feel right. The next ones will.”_

The floor creaked under Scully’s weight and she quickly made her way to the stairwell. She closed the door quietly and raced down the cement stairs. She was at the second floor when Dr. Horton opened the door from the third floor. She stood with her back to the wall and tried to silence her breathing. She saw his feet shuffle toward the edge and she hoped he wouldn’t peek over.

“ _Nothing,_ ” he said and she realized he was still on his phone. “ _No, she’s gone_.”

His voice disappeared and the door shut behind him. She let out a breath of relief and then ran down the next flight to find Mulder. She had to tell him what she overheard.

** **

Mulder held up the oatmeal coloured long johns as Scully crossed off items on the list that the Bigfoot tour gave them to have for the trip.

“What did he say again?” Mulder asked as she took the long johns from him.

“I said small,” she said as she handed them back and Mulder exchanged the size. “He said ‘not them’ and ‘there will be others’ but maybe they were talking about dogs they want to adopt?”

“Does he seem like the kind of guy who loves animals?” Mulder asked and she shook her head. “Okay, so who do you think he was talking about?”

“ _Rationally_ , I don’t know,” she admitted.

“What about _irrationally_?” he asked as he picked up a pair of beige snow pants from the rack. “These ones?”

Scully checked the tag. “Those are fine.”

“Irrationally?”

“I don’t know, us maybe?” she guessed. “I don’t like that kind of conjecture unless I can follow it up with actual facts.”

“Utilize your training in creating a theory for a motive,” Mulder instructed her teasingly with the words of their FBI training.

“I want to know more about Horton and Lisa before I jump to any conclusions,” she replied.

“So we let our friends from Denver do some snooping while we explore the great outdoors,” Mulder suggested with a smile and repeating the words Dr. Horton had used. Scully rolled her eyes as she took the snow pants from Mulder and put them in their shopping cart. “Those were his words, weren’t they?”

“Yes,” she replied.

“Getting some fresh air would be good for us and our stamina,” Mulder said with a leer. “Prove more of our mettle.”

“I said it last year and I’ll say it again,” Scully began. “ _I don’t need my mettle tested_. And my stamina is just fine.”

Mulder came up behind her and put the snow pants in the cart over her shoulder. “And _how._ ”

She scoffed as she looked up and behind her. “Are you worried about your stamina?”

He pushed his lower lip out and shook his head but his poker face wasn’t much better than hers. “No.”

Scully laughed. “Liar.”

Mulder shook his head as he pulled on the waistband of his jeans and puffed out his chest the way men do when they’re boasting. It seemed like a common thing she saw in law enforcement, especially when men were wearing their guns but that wasn’t always necessary.

“Should I be?” he asked with a grin.

Scully cleared her throat as she studied the list of recommended attire and items the Bigfoot tour group gave them when they put down their deposit for their excursion.

“Sophie?” Mulder said in a low voice that made her belly flip.

She looked up at him and their eyes had a conversation about intent before she opened her mouth. “I have no complaints.”

He mocked wiping away sweat from his brow and he gave her a wink. “Well in that case, should we finish our shopping?”

“You’re not as excitable as I thought you might be after seeing Bigfoot,” Scully noted as they made their way through Marmot Outdoor Outfitters.

“I saw something incredible but it might feel more tangible if you see it too,” he explained with a shrug as he picked up a few Powerbars off the display. “Peanut butter Triple Threat or Fudgy Chocolate Performance?”

“Be wild and get all of them,” she said and Mulder made a face as though he was about to say Oooooh. “I think we’re all set.”

“Let’s pay for this junk and get out of here, huh?” he suggested. “We can stay in and watch Golden Girls or something.”

Scully raised an eyebrow at Mulder. “We’re not needed by our Denver friends tonight?”

“I think after last night we can take a night off,” Mulder reasoned.

She narrowed her eyes on him and folded her arms under her breasts. “What are you doing?”

Mulder attempted to shrug innocently. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“ _Bullshit_ ,” she replied and pushed past him to get to the checkout. Mulder’s hand went quickly around her bicep to stop her. “Let go.”

“I’m not trying to treat you with kid gloves,” he said in a low voice. “I’m not interested in blowing our cover by running around the streets of Vail to look for something that probably ran off into the woods.”

“Is that so?”

If this was any other case, Mulder would be insisting they camp out in the woods overnight to try to spot it.

“The Robinsons could appreciate a night in, don’t you think?” he proposed.

“I think we should be at the Bully Ranch looking for Lisa and Dr. Horton,” she retorted and pulled her arm free from his grasp. “I don’t mind going alone.”

“Like hell you are,” he said in a voice that carried further than either of them would like.

Scully looked around at the shoppers glancing their way. “ _Keep your voice down._ ”

“I’m just trying to protect you,” he whispered.

This was what she feared when Pfaster came into their lives the first time.

“I can handle myself,” she tried to assure him but tried to limit their eye contact. “I’m fine.”

Mulder brushed past her and took their cart up to the desk muttering something about her being an impossible woman under his breath. She heard it anyway but she imagined that was his point.

Scully joined him at the register where the young man was glancing between them curiously.

“You folks doing some exploring?” he asked as he rang up their final total.

“We’re doing a Bigfoot tour,” Mulder said happily. “Ever done it?”

The young man shrugged. “I thought it was a hoax until that sighting in town last night.”

“Did you see it?” Scully asked.

“Yeah! I was leaving the Campo De Fiori,” he said and Mulder gave him a questioning look that Scully understood.

This young man, probably twenty-five years of age with a tattoo peeking out from under his company shirt sleeve and an eyebrow ring, didn’t seem like the type to dine at the stiff surroundings of the pricey restaurant. His name tag said Brent D. and she wondered if all the men working minimum wage jobs in town had names like that. There had to be at least two Brent’s working at Marmot for him to be known as Brent D.

Mulder’s expression reflected the price point on the menu. They only knew the cost of a dinner at Campo De Fiori because Mulder suggested they go there on an actual date when the case wrapped up. Scully agreed because she had a craving for something decadent.

“I work there as a bus boy,” Brent explained and Mulder and Scully nodded in understanding. “Everyone in Vail working jobs like this has to work two.”

“Right. So, you saw it?” Mulder asked in an attempt to hear more about the creature.

“Yeah, man. That Bigfoot tour is gonna be raking it in now.”

Mulder looked down to Scully in realization. “I guess it is.”

“I might even have to book a tour for me and my old lady,” Brent said. “Locals weren’t interested in a gimmick but this seems like the real deal.”

Scully tried not to roll her eyes at the qualifier Brent used for his significant other. She didn’t like the term ‘lover’ to describe casual relationships any more than she liked hearing women being called ‘old lady’ or ‘ball and chain’. Just call them what they were.

“Do you think it’s a gimmick?” Scully asked.

“I got a buddy that works there. Said you go up through the mountains, see some makeshift shelter, camp out for a bit and follow its tracks through the woods. He said people love it because they’re almost seeing something they might believe in,” Brent described and Scully could understand that. If you went into it believing it might be a possibility and you see half of something, you’re not disappointed. “He thought they might have to fold since all the mur-”

Brent stopped himself and looked around the shop to anyone who might have been listening.

Scully tried to appear ignorant to what he was going to say. “The what?”

Brent looked over his shoulder and leaned across the counter. “It never made any papers but something has been attacking people who went on these tours.”

“Any idea why?” Mulder asked.

Brent picked up Mulder’s credit card off the counter and handed it back to him. “Maybe this thing didn’t like its territory being encroached on.”

“Do you believe it’s a thing doing the attacks?” Scully asked.

Mulder signed his fake name across the credit card receipt. “What else would be killing people? This place is pretty friendly.”

Brent scoffed. “Sure man, we’re the _fucking Stepfords._ ”

Mulder took two of the bags from Brent with a laugh. “Thanks.”

“Have fun out there,” Brent called after them.

After they loaded their items into the back of their SUV and the engine warmed up, Mulder turned to Scully in his seat.

“That’s the first person to even admit there was something sinister,” Mulder said.

“The coffee kiosk guy told me something ate people who died,” Scully reminded him.

“Maybe they are the fucking Stepfords,” Mulder scoffed as he put on his seatbelt.

Scully put on her own. “Are you coming with me tonight?”

She watched his jaw clench and she could see the wheels turning in his mind. “If we weren’t a couple, I would still not want you to go. I’m pointing that out.”

“Okay, are you coming with me tonight?” she asked.

“Can’t have the Robinsons spending nights apart on their romantic getaway,” he muttered.

“So that’s a yes, Mitchell?” she asked emphasizing his undercover name.

“Anything for you, Sophie dear,” he replied sardonically with the same emphasis on her name.

  
** **

As Scully was deciding on clothes she would wear for their dinner out, Mulder was standing over the sink in his undershirt and boxers with a beard trimmer. He was looking at the attachment he put on nervously, starting and stopping the tool three or four times.

Scully walked toward the bathroom door in her robe. “For _fuck’s sakes_ , you’ll be fine.”

“Why are you snappy?” he asked.

“One eighth of an inch won’t make your face bald,” she replied.

“Again, I’m going to ask my darling fake wife what’s eating at her,” Mulder said in a syrupy tone. He started the beard trimmer and pulled it up his face. “Oh, look at that.”

Scully tried to calm herself down. Her frustrations with Mulder trying to protect her from something she was able to handle were minimal. He was bothering her for other reasons. She had little time to be alone since they arrived here. After three days, all they had confirmed was that yes, Bigfoot might be out there and their suspect list was pretty weak looking.

She wanted to walk into Dr. Horton’s office or Lisa’s work, flash her badge and ask them what the hell they were up to. She couldn’t imagine working undercover for months on end like so many of these assignments can go on for. Being someone else takes a special skill, an aptitude to lying and an ease to leaving your life behind. After seven years in the FBI, of all the undercover cases they had done, she knew it wouldn’t be something she would volunteer for no matter what the crime.

She thought it would be easier to play husband and wife because they were a couple but what she realized was the issues they did have had a spotlight on them at the moment. Maybe it was cabin fever or she missed wearing her gun or just the comforts of the basement office. Being in Vail put them on display because they were playing a part.

Before this assignment, she had longed to be with him when they were apart and now she realized there wasn’t a chance to do that. They already spent such intense amounts of time together. If they ever moved forward and became the kind of couple who moved in together, her alone time would be gone.

As she dabbed lotion on her arms to combat the dry air of the cool mountains, she thought about what that would be like. She’d have to make room for his fish, his sports equipment and the random items his mother had been slowly sending over to him from his childhood. She didn’t mind that so far. It was the constant talking and messiness that was due to the fact that Mulder didn’t see mess the way she did. He swept crumbs onto the floor off the counter when he saw them instead of into his hand to dispose of in the sink or the rubbish bin. Mulder left beard trimmings around the sink and toothpaste goo around the end of the tube. The man thought pulling the sheets halfway up the bed was sufficient and complained if her shoes weren’t tucked exactly out of his way when he came over without an invitation.

“Sophie?” Mulder called from the bathroom. “Did Bristol or Martinez say if they were going to be there tonight?”

Since they weren’t in public, referring to the FBI agents they were working with as their Denver friends wasn’t necessary.

“I got a call from Skinner while you were in the shower asking me about the attack and another one from Greene saying he was on patrol tonight and would be in the area,” Scully told him. “I thought James would have called you while I was with Dr. Horton.”

“James?” Mulder repeated as he poked his head out into the bedroom.

“Not everyone in the FBI goes by their last names, Mitchell,” she retorted and she saw him roll his eyes. “Even Skinner is called Walter by fellow agents.”

Mulder laughed. “I don’t think I could look the man in the eye and call him Walter with a sound mind.”

“So if you do, should I be afraid?” Scully asked.

“You can call me whatever you want,” he told her as he stood directly in front of her. “I don’t care.”

“Yes you do,” she countered.

Mulder narrowed his eyes at her. “Call me whatever you want.”

“No, _Fox,_ I don’t think I will,” she said and pointed her finger at him when he visibly winced. “See?”

“Okay, well it’s a shitty first name!” he cried.

“It didn’t stop other people-” she started and he threw his hands up in the air and groaned as he walked back into the bathroom.

“Do you want me to call you Dana?” he asked her.

She looked at him and wondered why she was even bringing it up. This was the most ‘girlish’ thing she had done with him, picking a fight over something that she had already resigned herself to in her mind. They were both guilty of this and a fight like this could happen between them from time to time like when she wanted a desk or when she said no to staying up all night to pour over old cases they had already decided they wouldn’t reopen. Mulder liked claiming the desk space for himself but didn’t care if and when she sat at it. Scully wouldn’t lose sleep over old cases that were probably sneaky farmers or lights in the sky from homemade fireworks gone awry.

Occasionally, she spoke up and told him that the least he could do was put her name on the door and he reminded her that she still had an official desk on the ninth floor near the forensics department with the other overpaid pathologists. The argument landed there and they moved on to discussing the theories of when and why the potassium nitrate, charcoal and sulfur didn’t create a spark but merely a colourful hue in the sky that mimicked the northern lights.

Mulder’s realization that being the head of the X-Files department didn’t actually earn him more money because of Scully’s degrees was a slight wound to him. Scully told him to pull up his socks and she bought lunch the rest of the week for his delicate ego. Mulder put a stop to it when he saw Scully’s cosmetics receipt after a stop to Walgreens.

“I want to be able to call you any name I feel fits,” she said. “ _Without_ a wince or eye-roll from you.”

He looked at her with an expression she would only classify as challenging. “You go for it.”

She wanted to throw the pair of pantyhose in her hands at his face but getting the beard trimmings off of them would be a bitch.

Scully huffed and went downstairs in her robe to get herself a glass of wine. Mulder would be another thirty minutes with his beard trimmer and she needed something. He made a heartbroken face the last time she smoked a cigarette and after her cancer, she would be an idiot to take that chance again.

Mulder came downstairs with a freshly-trimmed beard and found her sitting at the table with her wine in front of her. He was still in his boxers and undershirt that had black flecks of the trimmed hair he missed when he cleaned himself off.

“Bathroom is all yours,” he said as he opened the refrigerator door.

She looked up at him and her heart softened at the doubt in his voice. It was small but it was there. “I don’t know why I’m being like this.”

Mulder turned from the fridge with a beer in hand. “You’re allowed to be a little nuts sometimes.”

“A little nuts?” she repeated.

Mulder popped the lid off and tossed it on the counter behind him. “I like to take up all the unhinged responsibilities for myself but I suppose that’s a little selfish. You should be granted those moments too.”

“I like things how I like them,” she started slowly as he approached her and he nodded emphatically. Scully laughed a little as he sat at the table adjacent to her. “Shut up, I’m trying to be nice right now.”

“Okay bitchy,” he retorted with a laugh and she felt herself relax even more.

Scully pushed on his arm. “Being around you sometimes provokes the anal retentive side of me that likes things in order to flare up and lash out.”

“I’ve noticed,” he said gently and took a pull from his beer. “What can I do about that?”

“I mean…” she started. “I can try to adjust some of my stuff if you can try to adjust some of your stuff.”

Mulder held up one finger and got up from the table to put the bottle cap in the garbage. “How’s that?”

“Better,” she said. She took a sip of her wine and he crouched down in front of her.

“I’ll clean the sink off before you go in there,” he offered.

“Also good,” she ensured.

Mulder put his hands on her knees. “What else?”

His hands were inching up her thighs slowly. She pushed the thoughts away from earlier about cohabiting because she definitely wasn’t ready for something as intense as living and working with Mulder.

“I want to go for supper,” she whispered.

Mulder pushed her knees apart and looked down at her bare sex that was covered by sheer white lace. “Me too.”

“Mitchell…”

Mulder licked his lower lip and kissed her neck. “Do you forgive me?”

Scully’s shoulder pushed up as his prickly and newly-shorn beard tickled her neck. “Nothing to forgive.”

Mulder’s fingers dipped under the opening at the leg of her panties and the back of his index finger moved up her smooth outer lips. “Sure there is. I was a jerk about names and a hundred other things.”

“In 1992,” she replied.

“Nah,” he retorted. “I think 1999 wasn’t all roses either.”

“Maybe I should go see Dr. Horton to see why I’m still sticking around,” Scully replied as his finger continued to move up and down under her panties.

“Don’t do that,” he admonished quietly. “He’d have us both committed and you know they wouldn’t let us bunk up together.”

Scully laughed and pushed his hand down from her crotch. “We should finish getting ready.”

Mulder nodded slowly and he kissed the hand that pushed him away. “Okay.”

Their eyes remained locked on one another. There was a conversation with their eyes about intent and desire but right now, she wanted to connect the dots with this case. Mulder did too but his mind was easily distracted by his other head.

“Later,” she promised.

“Okay.”

** **

As they were stepping out for the night, Agent Martinez called to ask them to meet at the Shell gas station on the edge of town to get the background information they gathered on Dr. Horton and his fiance Lisa Wylie.

They studied the file at the corner of the parking lot while Mulder read it aloud and Scully took thorough notes. She tucked her notebook into her purse and Mulder delivered the file back to Martinez at the side of his car. She watched as the men made small talk with tiny puffs of heated air billowing into the night. Mulder’s hands dug into his jacket pocket as he tested his mettle as he withstood the low temperatures. When he returned to their car, he shivered almost angrily. He looked as though he was going to say something but thought better of it.

Martinez reminded them he was going to Avon tomorrow to meet with the patriarch to the Horton family. Bristol hadn’t mentioned whether he would be joining his partner or not. If it was them, Mulder would insist on him being there while he tucked Scully away to do something scientific and out of harms way.

Early on in their partnership, she accused him of ditching her or assigning her work instead of going out with him as a way of avoiding a scientific mind witnessing actual phenomenon he wanted her to believe in. He countered quickly that he wasn’t sure she was up for the adventure. It was the first time Scully wanted to slap him while simultaneously wanting to kiss him. The next time was in Comity, New Hampshire and she smoked a cigarette while mimicking how smug and annoying he was while willing away the part of her that wanted to scratch her nails down his back. Scully didn’t have many urges for angry sex but there was something about that time that flared up those desires. She was happy those moments were few and far between.

Scully cleared her throat and looked out the window as they drove back to the city centre. The information Bristol and Martinez gathered about the Horton’s family and Lisa’s background was informative.

What they knew so far about the Horton family prior to Martinez and Bristol’s background check was that they were a family who ran an outdoor tour company. Four of the five Horton kids were still living in Vail, except for the youngest child Annie who moved to Avon with her father after the divorce. Scully made a note of that because generally, children choose to stay with the mother. Adding to what they knew, they learned tonight that Lisa was from Vail as well. There was a period of time prior to becoming an esthetician where her credit cards, bank statements and work records were blank. Bristol and Martinez were still trying to learn why.

Their goal tonight at the Bully Ranch would be to watch Dr. Horton and Lisa, try to ascertain more about them and if Bigfoot decided to show up again tonight, they had flashlights and cameras in Scully’s bag to be better prepared. Scully also had a can of pepper spray that was tucked inside the pocket of her jacket.

When Mulder and Scully arrived at the Bully Ranch Restaurant and Pub, the tension between them was only mounting but it wasn’t due to the conversation they had earlier. Mulder had been watching Scully adjust the hem of her skirt in the car at each stop light. The high-waisted wool skirt she had on over her black tights was sticking to her legs more than usual and she wished she had a can of Static Guard in her purse. She put a dollop of lotion onto her fingers and before rubbing it in all the way, she pulled the hem up to smooth along the inside of the blue and green tartan pattern material.

She looked up at him as he was watching her. “What?”

“Can you try to be a little less distracting?” he asked as he parked the car.

It was easy to feel Mulder’s obvious desire to be together again. Maybe it was the cabin fever. Perhaps it was because she had told him how frustrated she was and he actually wanted to make it better instead of his usual ‘this is who I am’ response. She wanted to be with him too.

“I’m not doing anything on purpose to distract you, Mitchell,” she stated. “If your little head can’t get in the game, it might be prudent for you to relieve those urges before we leave the house.”

“I’m not going to ask you if you just said what I think you just said because I know it’s what you just said,” he quipped with a grin. “But touche.”

“Indeed,” she sighed. “What’s going on with you?

“That little skirt,” he told her. “You don’t dress like this in D.C.”

“For this very reason,” she replied as she nodded toward the slight bulge in his pants. Mulder cocked is head to the side as he adjusted himself. “This isn’t FBI approved attire. It would most definitely be too distracting.”

“And how,” Mulder muttered and she laughed. He shut the car off and cleared his throat. “Just give me a second to think about something less distracting.”

“Then don’t think about that I contemplated wearing thigh highs tonight but chose full stockings instead,” she whispered as she took off her seatbelt.

“Sophie!” he cried and his head fell back against the headrest on his seat. “What the fuck?”

Scully laughed. “Come on. I want to get our spot at the bar.”

Mulder growled low in his throat as he reached across the car to squeeze her knee. They both laughed.

** **

The point of sending Mulder and Scully to Vail was for them to investigate the deaths of twelve people who had gone on a Bigfoot tour. Their expertise in the paranormal made them the right fit for the job. The fact that couples had been targeted was the reason they were sent undercover but the FBI had not anticipated it taking four days for them to get on the actual tour.

When Mulder checked his cell service, Skinner left a scathing message about Mulder delaying their time in Vail for reasons that were not on the up and up. When Mulder told Scully of the message, it took about ten minutes of debating whether or not Skinner knowing the nature of their personal relationship was a bad idea.

Eventually, Mulder decided he was going to call Skinner right away instead of waiting until morning. She realized he must be feeling defensive because he usually tried to cheat at a game of roshambo or flip a coin instead of offering to check in. As he stood at the payphone off the kitchen, Scully noted he had a clear view of the door, Dr. Horton’s table and her. Mulder tapped his fingers on the wood panelling around the phone as he waited for Skinner to answer.

It was advantageous they had arrived when they did. Since the sighting, the staff informed them more than once that they had been busy all day. When Mulder and Scully arrived, their place at the bar had been vacant for maybe ten minutes.

Scully fingered the pedestal of her wine glass as her eyes travelled from Mulder to Dr. Horton’s table. Lisa was sitting under the crook of Horton’s arm against the back of the booth while she scanned the crowd. Horton was staring at the beer on the table as though he was counting the bubbles as they dissipated from the foamy head of the amber ale.

Scully’s eyes travelled the path of where Lisa’s gaze had settled to see a couple ninety degrees from the bar. It was a smiling couple, holding hands and focused only on each other. A half-eaten chocolatey dessert sat between them. Scully noticed the couple had matching wedding bands, nothing as ostentatious as hers and Mulder’s but fancy nonetheless.

The way Lisa watched them, Scully wondered if it was out of jealousy or targeting for something else. Was she watching the woman out of jealousy that happens when someone is obviously happier than you? It was hard for Scully to decipher motive since she was hesitant to theorize about Lisa and Dr. Horton’s involvement.

Mulder sat down with a sigh. “I told him we’re booked for tomorrow. He told me he knew that already and before he chewed me out for delaying the trip - which I explained couldn’t be helped since they didn’t have an opening on the tour until tomorrow - he asked me how you were.”

“That’s a lot to happen in a thirty second phone call,” Scully replied.

Mulder sat on his bar chair and ran his hand up her back. “Did I mention that this outfit reminds me of something a young you might have worn to her all-girls Catholic school?”

“It wasn’t all girls,” she sighed.

Looking down at the tartan skirt and deep blue boatneck sweater, she could see how he might get that idea however it was far from the uniform she wore to high school.

“Lie to me anyway,” he insisted as he kissed the side of her head.

“Our skirts were charcoal grey, the socks, sweaters, ties and blazers were a purplish burgundy and it was not at all flattering on me,” she told him as she looked from the hem of her skirt and over to him.

Mulder paired his black jeans with a grey polo and a red button up cardigan. He dressed the part of a yuppy husband without a lot of instruction and she wondered if he was mimicking something he saw when he went back to visit his mother in Martha’s Vineyard on weekends without work. Before they got involved and after they got the X-Files back, he had travelled to Massachusetts four times. He called her the entire time he was there, complained he didn’t bring enough sunflower seeds to endure the trip and mentioned taking her with him the next time so he had something to entertain him. The comment was so blatantly flirtatious as much as it was confusing.

The beard changed his face and she noticed freckles on the apples of his cheeks.

“Who were you watching?” he asked as his other hand reached across his lap to settle on her knee.

Scully looked down at her lap as his fingers snuck under the hemline of her skirt and her tongue licked at her bottom lip.

“Why must you do that?” he asked quietly in her ear.

She glanced up to see he was watching the crowd as well while he was blatantly attempting to make her as bothered as he was. The bulge in his dark jeans might not be obvious to anyone else in the restaurant but she recognized the way he was sitting and the hunger in his eyes.

Scully pulled the edge of her bottom lip through her teeth and narrowed her eyes on his face. “We’re at work, Mitchell.”

Mulder leaned in to her ear again and lowered his voice. “Then stop making your mouth look like something I want to put my-”

“Folks, do we need another beer? Wine?” Troy interrupted with an overly cheerful smile. Mulder pulled his hand from under the hem of Scully’s skirt and tapped the bar top. “Okay, two more coming up!”

“We didn’t see you earlier or yesterday,” Scully said with a smile. “You missed all the commotion.”

“I heard you got knocked down during the sighting,” Troy said as he poured her a fresh glass of wine. “How are you doing?”

“You heard I got knocked down?” Scully repeated.

The skepticism in her voice mimicked something when Mulder showed her a picture of crop circles and insisted it was alien language in a wheat field.

Troy laughed as he poured Mulder a fresh beer. “Well, my manager said the ridiculously beautiful redhead who sat at the bar two nights in a row got knocked down on my night off.”

“Ridiculously beautiful!” Mulder repeated and he looked more impressed than jealous. “Ridiculous? How ridiculous?”

“I’ve never had anyone call me ridiculous before,” Scully replied honestly.

“It’s a little ridiculous how beautiful you are,” Mulder said and kissed Scully’s cheek.

She rolled her eyes at the saccharine comment but her cheeks flushed anyway.

Troy nodded as he set the beer next to Mulder’s almost empty glass. “Drink up there, friend. If your Bigfoot comes by again tonight, the beer goggles will help make him look friendlier.”

“You think it was legitimate?” Scully asked and drank the last of her wine.

“You mean as opposed to a guy in a suit playing a prank?” Troy countered. A bill printed up an order and he started scooping ice into short tumblers. He grabbed the blue bottle of Skyy vodka and poured generous shots into each glass. “Between you and me and the rail of bottles at my knees, I think it’s more likely it was a guy in a suit than Bigfoot.”

Mulder made a disappointed face and he ran a hand across his beard. “I saw it.”

“How far away were you?” Troy asked.

Mulder pointed to the post across the bar. “Here to there.”

“What colour are the eyes on the guy down there?” Troy asked as he used the gun to put a red liquid then a clear liquid into each of the short tumblers. “Does he have freckles?”

“What are you, a cop?” Mulder teased.

Troy moved the drinks with the bill onto the pick-up station adjacent to them and took the next bill from the printer. He began pouring beers and glanced at Scully then to Mulder.

“I think it’s more likely someone’s trying to get business booming for the Bigfoot tour,” Troy replied.

Mulder looked at Scully overly disappointed. “I guess our trip out tomorrow is going to be a waste of money.”

Troy set two pints at the pick-up station and started pouring two more. “Hey, don’t let my theory fool you. I’ve been living here ten years and I’ve never seen it.”

“Bigfoot?” Mulder clarified and Troy nodded. “Have you ever gone looking for it?”

Troy shook his head as he watched the pints fill. “Anything that does live in those woods doesn’t need some ski instructor with a bum knee chasing after it.”

Another bill came up on the bar and he grabbed two martini shakers from behind him. Scully turned herself to settle under Mulder’s arm while she watched the people around them. Mulder’s hand felt hot through her sweater and he used the back of his thumb to trace circles around her shoulder. He was distracting and sweet when he was investigating a case.

“Sophie was hoping we’d see the real deal after the other night,” Mulder said to Troy.

Scully looked from where Lisa and Dr. Horton were now appearing to be having a quiet argument to Mulder and Troy. “What if we did see it? No one I know in D.C. would even believe it but what a story!”

Mulder’s face lit up as she acted the shit out of that line and he nodded at Troy.

“Good luck to you guys. I hope it ends better-” he stopped himself and waved his hand as he held an empty shot glass. “Bring pepper spray or something if you can.”

Mulder nodded. “Sophie has some of that. Don’t you Soph?”

“Anything else?” Scully asked cheerfully as she watched Dr. Horton get up from his table to head towards the bathrooms. Lisa was left sulking.

Troy scooped two spoonfuls of ice into a martini shaker. “Don’t get separated from your guides.”

Mulder’s finger stopped twirling on Scully’s shoulder. “Noted.”

** **

The morning came quickly and Scully thought Mulder was going to burst through the bedroom door like it was Christmas morning. Instead, she awoke maybe ten minutes after he got up and found him in the shower humming the Bigfoot song.

“The Indians claim he’s the missing link,” Scully sang as she opened the shower curtain with her toothbrush ready to go in her mouth. “That fits in the gap of the evolution chain. You can make up your mind when you’ve heard the stories. Sasquatch is the story, Bigfoot is the name.”

“Take off your clothes while you sing that and I can die a happy man,” Mulder retorted.

Scully pushed a dollop of toothpaste onto the bristles and smiled at him. “Maybe I’ll sing it to you in there while I wash your friend.”

Mulder glanced down to his half-swollen cock as she turned around at the sink. He left the shower curtain open slightly as she finished brushing her teeth.

“I’m surprised you slept at all,” she said after she rinsed her mouth out.

“I had some first-day-of-school feelings last night,” he said as he continued to wash his body.

They got back to the townhouse a little after midnight with sleep weighing on both of them. Scully patted Mulder on the knee and asked if going to bed could come before an orgasm. He agreed as he fought a yawn and spent the night spooned against her with his member pressing into her backside. It made for interesting dreams but her body appreciated the night off.

“What are you expecting?” she asked.

“Well the tour is picking us up in the next hour and thirty minutes. I’m thinking they’re going to give us a quick run down on the tour, read through some survival tips and tricks that are bogus and then hike us out through the woods to screw us with our pants on,” Mulder quipped.

“You don’t believe this is a legitimate tour anymore?” Scully asked as she shed her night clothes.

He shrugged casually as his eyes took in her form. “I guess we’ll see once we get out there but I’m not thinking these people are going to lead us to anything except maybe the killer.”

“That’s something,” she pointed out as she stepped into the shower with him.

“If we actually see Bigfoot while we’re out here, Scully, it’s going to be away from tour groups that create noise and tend to scare off these kind of primitive creatures,” he said as he rubbed soap onto her loofah. “I have a plan though.”

Scully turned her back to him and looked over her shoulder as he began to scrub her back. “What’s that?”

“Well, it is an overnight trip,” Mulder pointed out.

The tour group took people on a hike through the woods, into the forest surrounding Vail and eventually to a lookout cabin that they would stay the night at and hike back the following day.

“Are you planning on breaking curfew?” she asked as she turned around and took the loofah from him.

“Would you expect any less from me?” he asked with a grin.

She shook her head. “As long as you don’t ditch me.”

Mulder opened his mouth as though he was about to argue with her but she wrapped her free hand around his semi-hard cock and his eyes closed.

“You were saying?” she asked as she stroked with her soapy hand.

“I won’t ditch you,” he vowed.

“Promise on your sunflower seeds,” she coaxed as he grew harder in her hand.

“You’re _really_ cruel,” he sighed.

“ _Promise_ me,” she repeated as her grip tightened slightly.

“I promise,” he assured her and pushed her into the wall of the shower to cover her mouth with a heated kiss.

His tongue pushed past her lips as her hand squeezed his turgid flesh. Her strokes stilled but her mouth began to work against his. Mulder pushed his hips against her hand. The kiss began to build excitement inside her as his hands held her against the shower wall. As much as she would like to oblige that morning, she also needed not to. There had been a lot of sex over the last few days and her body needed a respite.

She pushed on his chest with her free hand to get some air. He didn’t ask why she stopped but it didn’t stop him from giving her a questioning look. She took the shampoo from the side of the tub and began washing her hair while Mulder rinsed off and left her to finish her morning routine.

She opened one eye to see him watching her lather her hair as he towelled off.

“Later?” he asked and she nodded. “Okay.”

She finished her shower quickly and readied herself for the day. They were heading into the great outdoors and going to try to spot Bigfoot or at the very least, lure the killers who were framing it out into the open.


	9. Into the Woods

At exactly the scheduled pickup time, 9:35 a.m., a long van that looked like a party bus used for bachelorette parties rather than an outdoor adventure tour pulled up in front of Mulder and Scully’s rental property. On the side of the black bus was a cartoon Bigfoot holding binoculars and peeking out through bushes. The entire thing was flashy, campy and gave Scully the impression what they were in for was a gimmick and nothing more.

Their tour guides, Kyle and Gerald - introduced with no last names, were the proud owners of the Bigfoot Adventure Tours. Standing in front of Scully in the middle of the bus, they each were wearing typical hiking gear, waffle print shirts and vests, along with toques covering their longer hair. A Bigfoot Adventure Tours logo was stitched onto their fleece vests but a smaller version of the one on the side of their vehicle. It was tacky all the same.

A driver with the same logo on his ball cap whistled to himself as he guided the bus along the terrain. The vehicle was filled with excited customers who were hoping to catch a glimpse of the “missing link.” Among the crowd was the couple Scully saw in at the Bully Ranch the night before. They were holding hands and kissing occasionally, unaware of anyone else around them.

Agents Bristol and Martinez called Mulder and Scully prior to their pick up by the Bigfoot Adventure Tours. After a twenty-four hour hold in the Eagle County Sheriff’s Department, Andrew Horton was released and placed under surveillance with the insistence from the FBI. Martinez was on his way already to talk to Phillip Horton while Bristol was sitting outside Andrew Horton’s place of residence with the intent of following him for the day.

Even with the week they had endured already, this investigation wasn’t feeling like they were getting anywhere. All the victims went on this Bigfoot tour but if Mulder and Scully’s experience was uneventful, where did that leave them?

Mulder put his hand on Scully’s thigh and rubbed it reassuringly. She looked up at him as they bumped along the highway towards the exit to get to Spraddle Creek Road. She liked the way he looked with a beard and the time spent here with fresh air had been overall wonderful for the two of them. After everything that happened with Pfaster, just being away from Washington was nice.

The attack in the Bully Ranch was another hiccup but there was more to her than the victim moniker. Even more so now, she wanted to find justice for the victims of these supposed Bigfoot attacks.

Their bus would venture out up the bumpy road to the end, hike for three hours until they reached their lookout cabin. There they would explore the area for Bigfoot’s shelter before they dined on a catered dinner, some Bigfoot watching and then hike back the next day.

As long as there wasn’t a swarm of green mites that would turn her into a cocoon of death, Scully was actually looking forward to exploring more of the Vail forests.

If what Mulder saw was true, it had to be out there. Scientifically, that would be quite the find but furthermore, it would prove their reassignment to the X-Files was valid. They would have more proof towards their goal of quantifying the paranormal and showing that investigating these kinds of cases was worth the federal government’s money. If it proved to be a fake, at least they would be catching a murderer.

“Ready to see some giant simian murderous creatures, Sophie?” Mulder asked in a low voice that told her she should have let him pursue his desires that morning.

She cleared her throat. “In some respect, yes.”

Mulder grinned and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “This is going to be fun!”

They were both wearing professional grade hiking pants Mulder made them purchase the other day in matching charcoal grey. Inside their side pockets on the legs, Scully insisted they store latex gloves and evidence bags for a just in case scenario. They were Omni-Wick, which they were assured was a good feature but mostly they felt like polyester. Scully had on a white long sleeved shirt and fleece vest on her top with her jacket on the window behind her. Mulder had donned a long sleeved fleece pullover that was the same green as his eyes and Scully reminded herself to cool her hormones.

The couple to Mulder’s right leaned around him to smile at them. “Hi!”

It was in unison and she could hear Mulder’s internal groan already.

“Hi,” she replied with the same forced cheerfulness.

Everyone was wearing name tags on their shirts except Mulder who put his and Scully’s on their thighs out of protest. She let him win that one and appreciated the grin he gave her when she left the name tag on her leg.

“We’re Sandy and Rod,” the man to Mulder’s right introduced. “ _I’m_ Rod.”

The obvious joke got a fake laugh from Scully and Mulder and a genuine one from Sandy. Mulder’s hand gripped her shoulder and tugged Scully towards him in jest. They were both athletic and with striking blonde hair and blue eyes. Scully noted Rod had attached lobes while Sandy had detached so when Mulder mentioned later the two were probably siblings or cousins, she could argue the trait indicating they were non-familial.

“I’m Mitchell, this is my wife Sophie,” Mulder introduced.

“Are y’all excited?” Sandy asked with a twang that made it clear she was not a Colorado native.

“Definitely!” Mulder declared with a similar animation that she recognized as mocking but perfect strangers would trust in its authenticity. “So, Sandy, _Rod_ , what brought you two to the Bigfoot tour?”

“Well we wanted a ski getaway but neither of us is very good on the slopes,” Rod spoke up and Sandy nudged him. “We’re taking a break from our lessons to have some fun!”

A couple across from them, the ones from the Bully Ranch, smiled at Scully. The bruises on her face and body were covered by makeup and clothing. Instead of meeting faces of concern, she was finding strangers more happy to engage. It said a lot about society’s ability to handle a woman faced with violence.

Mulder grumbled that morning as she applied foundation to her face where she had been struck by Pfaster that it could appear bad for him in a lot of regards. He quickly retracted that thought when Scully raised a skeptical eyebrow at him.

“Were you folks in town when Bigfoot walked through?” Sandy asked.

“We were front and centre!” the man from the Bully Ranch spoke up. “I’m Luke. This is my wife Emma.”

Emma waved shyly and glanced at Scully again nervously. “Hi.”

“It was pretty exciting!” Rod said as he ignored Emma’s introduction. “We were about to leave our restaurant when we heard all the fuss on the street.”

“What did you see, _Rod_?” Mulder asked as he put an emphasis on the man’s name.

Scully nudged her knee against Mulder’s and he squeezed her shoulder’s in response.

“This creature, well over six feet tall and if I was a betting man, I would say it was the real thing,” Rod said. He glanced around conspiratorially at the other people on the bus. “I bet you we’re going to see that out here!”

“I hope so, _Rod_!” Mulder replied genuinely. Scully smiled tightly and Mulder took her hand in his as the bus bumped along the road. “We’re from D.C.”

“Probably not a lot of spooky stuff out there,” Luke commented with a grin.

Mulder and Scully began to laugh but stopped themselves. Mulder cleared his throat. “Depends what part of Washington.”

“Folks!” Kyle interrupted. “We’re going to be arriving at the drop-off point pretty quickly. There is a restroom there and we’ll have a food break halfway through before we arrive at our camp for the night.”

“Glamping, he means,” Sandy muttered and Scully gave her a questioning look. “ _Glamorous_ camping.”

She nodded in understanding. “I think the last time we slept in a proper cabin-”

“Rod and I are used to roughing it but we’re here for the adventure of seeing Bigfoot,” Sandy cut her off and Scully nodded again.

Apparently, the alpha personalities of Rod and Sandy took over basic conversations. This would be a long overnight trip.

“So if anyone has any questions before we arrive at the drop off, please ask now because once we’re out in the woods, it’s best to stay silent as we hike to try to lure Bigfoot out.”

Mulder scoffed and Scully squeezed his hand.

“If we stay on the trail, no one will get lost. There are orange and yellow markers along the trail to keep us on track,” Gerald spoke up. “The hike is quite steep. Everyone has on their boots?”

The members of the tour, including Mulder and Scully, held up a foot to show off their boots.

“Everyone has a rainproof jacket in case we get caught in some weather?” Kyle asked.

Again, people held up their coats or showed the sleeves of their jackets.

Scully felt like she was in kindergarten, although groups of people in the wilderness probably needed to be treated like five-year-olds.

“Great. We’ll be arriving at the drop off in twenty minutes. If anyone has any questions or concerns, please approach myself or Gerald now so we can go over them with you!” Kyle announced.

Mulder released Scully’s hand and laid his arm across her shoulders to lazily draw his thumb across her upper arm. “So, Sophie… Are you ready to experience the great outdoors?”

“I don’t know, Mitchell,” Scully replied putting an emphasis on the first letter of his name. “Are you expecting we’ll actually _see_ something?”

“For the money we dropped on this tour, I hope so!” Rod spoke up.

He and Sandy laughed and Mulder put his mouth up to her ear. “I might maul them before Bigfoot gets a chance.”

Scully laughed and covered her mouth.

“Hey you lovebirds, there’s little privacy in this cabin we’re going to. Keep that hanky-panky aside for a night,” Sandy said with a giggle.

Scully’s cheeks felt like they were on fire and she looked up at Mulder to tell him she would join him in the mauling.

“I think I just heard your thought in my brain,” Mulder whispered.

Scully appreciated his presence in these kinds of situations. She recalled back to the shared ride they were forced into with Agents Stonecypher and Kinsley on the worst detour possible through Florida. Mulder’s dry comments and sarcastic jokes on the way to the conference kept her from screaming and pulling her hair out as their companions and their excitement for the upcoming relationship-building seminars took over the air of the car.

Even after facing death, she wasn’t feeling cheerful and grateful for every moment of her existence. After five years, it had come up in a review that they had missed every one they’ve been signed up for. Upon their return, Skinner put them on menial surveillance to other departments and gave them worksheets to hand in for review. It was one of the worst assignments she had in her time in the FBI until they began working on manure detail for A.D. Kersh.

“This is reminding me of Florida,” she told him and he nodded his head enthusiastically with a knowing look. “Right?”

“So much of Florida,” he said as they bumped along the road. “Except I’m more interested in simian creatures than Mothmen.”

“What’s a Mothman?” Rod interjected with a laugh. “Is that like a crappy comic book character?”

Mulder pushed his lips together and then looked widely at Rod. “Yeah, _Rod_. You’ve never heard of the incredible Mothman?”

Rod puffed his chest a little. “Who hasn’t?”

Scully put her fingers to her lips and looked down at her lap. Mulder squeezed her shoulder again as she stifled another laugh.

The van came to an abrupt stop and the passengers all jerked to the side. Scully put her hand on Mulder’s lap to stop herself from falling off the bench and the crowd of hikers let out a wail of protest in unison.

“Sorry gang!” Kyle called from the front of the bus. “There’s something on the road. If you give us just a minute we can clear the path and keep going.”

Mulder looked at Scully and stood up to glance out the front of the bus. He held on to the railing along the roofline as he attempted to peer out the front over the bus driver’s head. She watched his face for a sign of something.

“See anything?” Scully called to Mulder.

He shook his head. “It must be right in front of the bus.”

“ _Oh my god_!” Kyle shouted from outside and Gerald ran out after him.

Mulder ran to the front, past the rest of the tour group and called Scully’s undercover name. As she stood up, Rod got up in front of her.

“Hold up here, little lady,” Rod began as he took one of her arms in his strong hand. “What are you doing?”

“I’m a medical doctor and if someone has been injured, I can help,” Scully said before pushing Rod’s hand off of her. “Excuse me.”

Rod followed closely behind her and when she exited the tour van, she walked past where Kyle was throwing up against a tree and Mulder was standing with his hand over his mouth.

“Oh my god,” Scully repeated Kyle’s words.

A half-clothed body of a woman lay broken and beaten and she hesitated to guess if there was life still inside her. The macabre sight in front of her was not reflective of the maulings reported that brought them out to Vail in the first place. It was just her first impression but Scully deduced that this was a woman who had been beaten and bruised by a man.

Mulder wiped his hand across his lips as he tried to detach himself from what he was seeing. “Isn’t that-”

“Lisa from the Arrabelle Spa,” Scully finished.

She pulled latex gloves from the pocket on her leg and knelt down beside the body. She put two fingers to her neck and felt a faint pulse.

“I don’t think she’s dead,” Scully told the crowd.

A moan escaped Lisa’s lips.

“Shit!” Gerald yelled from behind her. “Holy shit!”

Mulder gave Gerald a dirty look and Scully glanced behind her to see the rest of the tour group watching her. There was a conversation happening among the group but her mind was focused on the body in front of her.

“Do you have a first aid kit and a radio or cell phone that will work out here?” Scully asked as her instincts took over to protect this life that was hanging by a thread. Gerald was looking at Lisa’s half-clothed body. “Hey! I need a radio or a cell phone that works. I need a first aid kit. _Move_!”

Gerald snapped out of it and disappeared into the bus and returned momentarily with the red bag in hand. He used shaky hands to unzip the bag and offered it to Scully.

“I need the emergency blanket,” Scully told Mulder. “She’s cold as ice.”

He took the reflective mylar bag out of the plastic wrapping and helped Scully lay it over Lisa’s body. “Where’s the radio?”

Gerald shook his head. “The radio in the bus won’t reach back to the office.”

“Cell phone?” Mulder asked.

“We have to get up to the lookout cabin to get a radio that works,” Kyle said as he approached slowly. He drank from a plastic bottle of water in hand and spit near his feet. “In about half an hour’s drive, we can get to the trail and from there, it’s a three-hour hike up.”

“Can you turn this bus around anywhere to get down the hill?” Scully asked as she assessed the wounds on Lisa’s body.

Lisa had definitely been beaten by a human man and not anything connected to their case. Her left eye was swollen shut and she had defensive wounds on her forearms and legs.

“It takes four and a half hours to drive back to the city,” Kyle replied. "The road loops back but it takes a while."

“It would be faster to take her with us,” Mulder muttered.

“There’s a park ranger near our lookout point,” Gerald offered. “We can radio them for medical assistance. They always have someone with a proper kit up there. We’ve had to use them in the past-”

“ _Shut it_ Ger,” Kyle cut his partner off.

Mulder looked at Scully questioningly as he knelt close beside her. “What do you think we should do, Sophie? You’re the doctor.”

Scully nodded. “I think we should take her up to the cabin and call for help there.”

Mulder turned where he crouched towards Gerald and Kyle. “Do you guys have a stretcher or a board or anything we can put her on to keep her stable?”

Gerald nodded. “We have a full first aid kit in the luggage compartment. I don’t know how to use it. We don’t bring a staff member trained in first aid during midweek tours.”

Scully looked over her shoulder. “Just get it and grab a neck brace if you have one.”

“Can I help?” Rod offered from the front of the crowd.

“Are you a doctor?” Mulder asked as he stood up and Rod stumbled with his words. “Maybe just clear out of the way until we need your muscle to carry her inside the bus.”

“What are you, her spokesperson?” Rod scoffed but Scully could see it was a cover up for being useless in a situation he would prefer to be in control of.

“I’m her husband and she’s the doctor-” Mulder said as he stepped towards Rod.

“Mitchell,” Scully warned as she put her hand on his leg.

She could see the muscles in his jaw clench and he held his stare down with Rod for a moment longer before stepping back slightly. “Just don’t get in her way, Rod. This woman needs my wife to help her.”

Rod’s cheeks were slightly pink but she didn’t have time to worry about hurt feelings. Kyle and Gerald came around the side of the van and Kyle presented Scully with a plastic stretcher that looked new. Gerald was carrying the first aid kit and a neck brace.

“What can we do?” Gerald asked.

“We need to stabilize her neck first,” Scully instructed and held her hand out for the brace. “Keep her body still as I put this on.”

Mulder pulled out a pair of latex gloves from his pants pocket and put them on before getting into position to help her. “Get gloves if you have them.”

“Lisa,” Scully began quietly as she assessed Lisa's body. Her airway appeared to be clear and her breath did not seem laboured. “My name is Sophie Robinson and I’m here to help you. I need to put your neck in a brace.”

Lisa groaned again and took it as a sign of consent. With extreme care, she put the brace around Lisa’s neck. Once her neck was stabilized in the brace, she waved her hand for the plastic stretcher.

Gerald knelt beside her and she instructed them how to prop the stretcher behind Lisa’s body as they gently rolled her onto the medical equipment.

“ _Easy_ , nice and slow,” she coached them as they pushed the board under Lisa’s back.

Once she was laying flat on her back, another groan escaped her lips and Mulder ushered the passengers back onto the tour bus. Scully used the velcro straps to secure her to the board with the blanket to keep her warm.

“I need you two to carefully put her in the aisle of the bus,” Scully said to Rod and Gerald with a take-charge tone she rarely used unless the situations were dire.

Mulder exited the bus again and approached her. Usually in these situations, he allowed Scully to boss him around and he reluctantly pitched in where he could while still voicing his displeasure. Scully was grateful that he kept those protests to himself today.

Gerald knelt down at Lisa’s head and Rod at her feet. The two were fixated on Lisa’s face.

“Guys?” Scully began. “I need you to watch where you’re walking and not her.”

She walked them into the bus and knelt down at her side to count her pulse again. As Scully got Lisa situated on the floor, in the back where she wouldn’t move around, she hoped Mulder was trying to collect any trace evidence.

“What’s your husband doing?” Kyle asked as he stood up to look out the front window of the bus.

“I think he’s trying to see if we got all of her clothing,” Scully lied. “Do you have anything I can put around her to keep her from sliding back and forth back here?”

Kyle nodded. “I’ll grab some of the sleeping bags from down below.”

“Is she going to be all right?” Emma asked Scully as she approached slowly. She tucked an errant strand of her chestnut brown hair behind her ear that had fallen out of her ponytail. She sat down on the edge of the bench and looked at Lisa with concern. “I mean… will she make it?”

Scully pulled her lips tight as she smiled reassuringly. “I hope so.”

Emma studied Scully’s face and frowned slightly. “I wish my first aid skills weren’t so rusty or I might have offered to help.”

Scully realized her makeup might not be doing the best job at hiding the bruises from the attack at the other night. “It will come back to you. Most things are like a muscle and it works if you use it.”

“If you need help again, I’ll make sure to ask you before Rod can offer his services,” she replied with a wink.

Mulder entered the van and Scully looked up to see him flashing her the thumbs-up sign. She looked back at Emma. “I appreciate that.”

The air in the van felt heavy and thick with adrenaline from the recent excitement. She could feel all the eyes on her but right now she felt more acutely aware of Emma’s deep green ones focused on her.

“Is that from the other night?” Emma asked as Mulder sat across from Emma.

Scully nodded slightly and felt her cheeks burning.

“We’re lucky there was an off-duty FBI agent around,” Mulder said with a grateful smile she acknowledged was acting but she hoped was genuine to their audience. “Were you there?”

Luke had said previously that they were but normal people don’t pay attention to minor details in conversations and hold on to them. Law enforcement officers pick up every detail because of extensive training. It was important to get Emma’s version of events by asking questions they might have heard before.

Emma nodded her head. “We came from Spokane the day before the sighting. I’m hoping that after this we can ski or something.”

“Did you come to Vail specifically for the tour?” Scully clarified with a hope she was coming off more curious than questioning.

“Luke _loves_ folk tales, believes every ghost story he hears and watches old reruns of Unsolved Mysteries,” Emma said with a small smile. “I compromised to say yes to this tour if he would do a few of the romantic things while we were up here too.”

She glanced down to the front of the bus where Luke was talking animatedly with Gerald and Kyle. Emma tucked her hands between her knees and shivered against the warm air on the bus.

Scully looked towards Mulder. “You have yourself a believer.”

Emma nodded again. “I think he expects to actually see Bigfoot.”

Mulder gave Scully a knowing look. “It wouldn’t be so bad?”

“The chances of a creature like that being spotted off the well-worn path by loud noisy tour group that frequents the space three to four times a week is highly improbable,” Scully began as she took Lisa’s vitals one more time. “We are the very thing that animals and primitive beings would run from. We bring technology, weapons and destruction. What a creature of that nature will do to survive is to hide from what could pose a threat.”

Mulder smiled at Scully with his pearly white teeth beaming between his lips. “Sophie.”

She smiled at Mulder. “It’s a logical assumption considering how other animals in the wild react to humans encroaching on their space.”

“Like a flight or fight response?” Luke asked as he sat down next to Emma. “It attacked?”

“You think this thing attacked her?” Emma asked as she looked back to Lisa.

Scully shook her head. “I think this was _someone_ , not _something_. I’ve seen a lot of injuries like this at my job.”

Emma’s eyes widened at Scully’s statement but she looked back down at her hands instead of replying. If it was something, she didn’t want to further Emma’s anxiety about the creature at the moment. She couldn’t take the emergency blanket off Lisa and risk another shock to her system to confirm her point. If there was a thing out there, the assessment would have to wait until they were at the lookout point.

Gerald and Kyle approached with sleeping bags to put around Lisa to stabilize her body. “We’ve got the bags. Once she’s ready, can we go?”

Scully nodded as she took sleeping bags from Kyle. “The sooner we get moving the better.”

Gerald set the bags down on the floor and left Scully to finish with her work while Kyle took another lingering glance.

“What’s with the sleeping bags?” Rod asked. “I thought these beds were furnished.”

“If the van gets stopped in the snow or we have a sudden temp drop and the cabin air gets down to below freezing, you won’t ask questions about why we pack essentials in a van,” Kyle muttered.

Rod cleared his throat. “I was just asking.”

“Okay everyone!” Gerald announced. “We’re going to get going! Dr. Robinson assures me and my partner that our new guest won’t be any trouble. Back to fun!”

The response from the cabin was less than enthusiastic but the van resumed its bumpy climb up the gravel road. The van jerked and continued up the hill. It would be a quiet and sombre drive towards the drop-off point.

 

*** *** ***

 

Rod and Mulder were the first to offer to carry Lisa’s body on a stretcher up to the lookout point. Kyle and Luke took their bags and Scully followed behind Mulder closely to ensure her well being. It was after 1 p.m. and they would be stopping for lunch in an hour.

Lisa’s body temperature had elevated slightly but not to the point of concern. She was sleeping soundly as they took the well-worn path up the hill towards the cabin.

“How’s our patient?” Kyle asked as he looped around to join Scully behind Mulder.

“She’s doing okay. Her injuries don’t look life threatening,” Scully replied as she continued to put one foot in front of the other.

The hike wasn’t too steep to be uncomfortable and the path was clear from any snow or debris. Scully estimated that even with Lisa being with them, they were making excellent time.

“It’s a 1000 foot climb up to the lookout point so if you get winded, just let us know,” Kyle said as he placed a hand on Scully’s shoulder.

“I’ll be fine,” she replied as she tried not to feel offended that there was an implication she wasn’t capable or fit. “I’m not carrying an extra pack.”

Kyle looked down at the bag on his front. “Touché.”

“We’re going to stop for lunch at the clearing if everyone is okay with that,” Gerald announced from the front of their line. “Dr. Robinson, how’s the patient?”

“I’ll take her vitals when we stop,” Scully called back. “A short break should be fine.”

Mulder grunted as they continued up the path. “Maybe when we start up again, I can take the front.”

Rod laughed. “Am I not carrying enough of the weight for you there Think Tank?”

Obviously, Rod had less affection towards the job title that Mulder gave as his cover and Scully rolled her eyes at the nickname. Rod, as it turned out, sold insurance and was the antithesis of Clyde Bruckman.

“Oh I’m doing great, Rod,” Mulder replied back. “I’m just tired of staring at your ass.”

Scully looked at the sight in front of her, Mulder’s athletic build inside his professional grade trousers, and smiled. Her view wasn’t so bad.

As they approached a man-made clearing, Scully noted a few things about the setup. It looked like a makeshift camp the tour group had set up with varnished logs for benches, a fire pit and a bear box off to the right.

“This isn’t what I expected,” Scully replied as she looked around the space. Mulder and Rod set Lisa down between two of the the benches. “This looks like a professional camp.”

“We try to make the spaces as accommodating to our guests as possible,” Kyle boasted as he set the backpacks down. “There’s a latrine up around the corner with a pump for washing. We’ll build a fire to warm everyone up.”

Mulder wiped the sweat from his brow with his shirt sleeve. “I don’t know about you guys but I’m not cold.”

The ambient air to Scully felt to be around 45 degrees, which wasn’t the coldest she had hiked in. Kyle and Gerald’s attempts to prevent anyone from a rapid body temperature drop was noted but she refrained from another lecture to Mulder about keeping warm. He’d figure it out soon enough.

“We have firewood near the bear box,” Kyle announced in the same tone they used on the bus. “Who wants to help build a fire?”

Sandy and one of the other women from the group raised their hands to follow Kyle.

“How’s she doing?” Mulder asked as Scully began to take her vitals.

“Her pulse is stronger. I’d like to clean up her face and assess her properly,” Scully began. “I’m worried if I take the blanket off that her temperature will drop.”

“Do you think this was done by a man?” Mulder asked as he opened a bottle of water.

“I do but I’m not sure on a suspect,” she replied and she swallowed heavily. This could have been her at the Bully Ranch or if Pfaster hadn’t been interrupted. The sight was familiar and unnerving. “I can’t take off her blanket to assess defensive wounds but I think this was a person.”

“Are you okay?” he asked as his voice dropped to imply he could sense what she was going through.

She shrugged. “I’m as fine as I can be.”

“I’m actually a little proud of you for admitting you might not be one hundred per cent ‘fine’, Sophie,” Mulder teased.

“Mark your calendar, Mitchell,” she muttered and he laughed.

“Wesley Horton?” Mulder asked quietly as he looked around the camp implying the possible culprit.

“Why not his brother?” Scully replied back, matching his tone. “That whole family stinks of something.”

“Is their family business going out of business a big enough motive?” Mulder thought out loud. “Or is this something else?”

Scully shook her head as she looked down at Lisa who was sleeping soundly. “I don’t know, Mitchell. I’d be interested to see what our Denver friends find out.”

Mulder held his finger to his lips and she nodded. Even if Lisa was a victim in this scenario, it was also possible she was connected to something. There were too many loose ends right now and they had no idea where this would lead them. What they were there for on that tour was to possibly spot Bigfoot, determine whether it was violent enough to attack couples and hopefully apprehend the culprit related to the murders. Debunking the lore around the rumours only interested her in proving that it did or didn’t exist. Something to expand beyond what science understood as possible or impossible to live out there had some appeal.

Their conversation came to a halt when they were asked to help set up the rest of the lunch for the group. Part of the ‘fun’ for the the lunch that Kyle and Gerald provided was a small barbecue for hamburgers, pre-made Greek salad and juice as an alternative to the water they had been consuming. It surprised Scully to see the planning and care that they put into taking care of their guests. She got the sense that they were genuinely trying to make their business work, whether the sightings had been real or not. They ate off reusable plastic plates with cutlery of the same quality.

When the lunch was finished, Gerald packed all their garbage in a clear bag to carry up with them towards the lookout point where there was a waste collection unit safe from wildlife. Kyle put out the fire with the help of Rod and Mulder made an offhand comment he expected Rod to offer to pee on it. Gerald informed Scully that the cutlery and plates needed to be taken to the pump and rinsed off before being carried up by another volunteer to the lookout cabin. There, they would be washed, used for dinner and breakfast and then carried back down to the bear box the next day.

Even though hiking through the woods while attempting to spot a creature she didn’t believe existed and spending time with strangers wasn’t entirely up her alley for fun, she knew this was the kind of thing Mulder appreciated. She could see the smile on Mulder’s face as they packed up to finish the hike and he was sincerely enjoying himself.

Scully used the latrine before the group took off back up the trail. As she was washing her hands at the pump, she heard a low growl echoing through the woods.

Her heart began pumping loudly in her ears and she tried to focus on the direction of the sound. Her gun was tucked in a holster at her back and she unzipped her jacket and vest slowly to obtain access to the weapon.

The pump sputtered as it forced out the last few drops of water. She glanced back to the pump and then back towards the forest as the growling increased. Snaps of twigs along the ground alerted her and she knew that something was approaching. Another low growl and she felt her heart stop. It was coming closer.

Scully reached for her gun and was about to pull it out to be ready when she heard footsteps beside her.

“Sophie?” a timid voice called.

She turned to see Emma approaching slowly.

“The group is ready,” Emma said. Her expression changed when she saw the look on Scully’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you hear that growling?” Scully asked quietly.

Emma turned her face towards the treeline. “No.”

Scully was quiet for a moment and pulled her hand from inside her jacket as she tried to hear it again. “Maybe it was a bear walking through the area.”

“With all the noise we’re making?” Emma asked timidly and Scully shook her head. Emma looked around the space that had gone quiet and pulled her arms around her body to hug herself. “If it is a bear, we should get going.”

Scully nodded and she followed Emma back to the group to continue their hike up the hill.

  
*** *** ***

The remainder of the hike was uneventful up until they reached the lookout where Gerald called the park ranger for medical attention. As they finally reached the outside of the impressive log cabin, Gerald asked everyone to wait outside while he went up to the top floor to radio for help.

Scully set her backpack down next to Lisa, who had remained unresponsive. She had assured her airway was clear and her breath was coming in low, shallow pants. Her heartbeat was steady and her temperature was not longer elevated to a point of worry. The woman needed attention right away and there was little Scully could do from there. To be effective, she needed to give her IV fluid and a proper exam. Without her medical kit, assistance from another medical professional or basic tools, Scully knew at the moment she could only keep her comfortable. She vowed never to venture this far from her medic bag ever again.

At the top of the mountain range where they had hiked to, there was a drivable path that allowed the park rangers to cover more ground between the few cabins along this ledge of the treeline. From the main floor balcony overlooking the valley, Scully could see along the bowl of the valley range to spot four more cabins on her right and left. Smoke billowed out from the one closest to them and she assumed that was the ranger station although she couldn’t be sure without binoculars.

Gerald came down from the third floor of the cabin through the outside staircase and promised that someone would be there within twenty-five minutes. Scully suggested moving Lisa inside on a cot where she might be more comfortable. Thankfully, the owners of the Bigfoot Adventure Tours agreed and they unlocked the cabin for the tour group to rest.

The lookout cabin looked like something out of the catalogue that Mulder chose their getaway to Kent Island. Scully was expecting something more rustic and less tailored to comfort to give the illusion of an outdoorsy experience but the cabin for the Bigfoot Adventure Tours was on par with the resorts in Vail.

The three-floor cabin offered a wide, wrap around porch, electricity for the essentials and a large woodstove to allow the guests to shed their outer clothing. Each couple was given a tall cubby to hang their jackets and place their bags in. Mulder and Scully had left their vests on to attempt to conceal their weapons until nightfall. Even though Scully and Mulder had packed their snow pants, just in case, they had felt comfortable without them thus far.

In the main living space was a large open kitchen with a cooking stove, an icebox, sink and a long island for food preparation. To the left of the kitchen was the dining area. The table appeared to be tentatively set for six people on each side with two large chairs at each end. Flanking the table were long benches to give the appearance of the Arcadian qualities these kinds of rustic cabins liked to promote.

Two wash closets sat off to the right of the staircase to the upper floor and Scully felt a wave of relief pulse through her when she saw that they were flushing toilets.

Gerald and Mulder set Lisa’s stretcher on the floor next to the woodstove and Kyle began the busy work of building a fire from the small pile by the brick fireplace. He sent more of the tour group outside to bring in wood from the pile next to the generator.

“This is quite the elaborate set up,” Scully noted to Kyle as she checked Lisa’s pulse.

“We got this place for half the valued price when one of the other tour groups in town went out of business,” Gerald offered. “Some horseback riding company couldn’t keep their thing afloat when Vail is literally overflowing with possible clients.”

“This cabin was part of their tour?” Mulder asked as he looked around.

Gerald shook his head and took his toque off to run a hand through his sandy blonde hair. “No, it was a family asset on collateral that got taken by the bank when the head of the Horton family lost their company. We got it in an auction thinking we could do something with it.”

“Seemed like a no-brainer to use this on the tour,” Kyle replied. “What kind of idiot bets one hundred grand on the Cubs?”

“A hundred grand?” Mulder repeated and he shook his head in understanding. There was a statistic about sports that was lost on her. “Gotta go for the underdogs myself but why bet on a team that barely made it into the top five?”

“Ninety-six they came fourth,” Kyle commented as he built the fire.

“Fourth isn’t first, man,” Gerald replied.

Mulder was the kind of man who rooted for the underdog because he himself was the unlikely hero. Since being assigned to the basement office, Scully had an affection to the underdogs of life but she certainly wouldn’t bet that kind of money on a team. Of course, she would bet on Mulder. His tenacity for the truth was paramount to all other aspects of his very nature.

A radio on Gerald’s hip sounded. “BAT house, come in. BAT house, come in.”

“Bat house?” Mulder repeated.

“Bigfoot Adventure Tours,” Gerald said lamely and pulled the radio on his hip to his face. “BAT house calling back. Batman One speaking.”

Scully rolled her eyes but Mulder laughed. “Oh I get why you did that. Hey Sophie, you think we could get monikers?”

“Aside from the ones we have?” she countered meaning Mr. and Mrs. Spooky.

He touched his nose and put his hands on his hips to wait for Gerald on the radio.

“Batman One, we have the emergency evac here waiting at the park ranger station on the landing pad with Deputy Greene from Vail,” the voice called. “The medic team has already left for you guys. How is the patient?”

Gerald handed over the radio to Scully.

“My name is Dr. Sophie Robinson and I was present when she was found. Her name is Lisa Wylie and she needs emergency medical attention immediately. Her heart rate is under 60 bpm, her airway is clear but she hasn’t regained consciousness since we found her on the road up here.”

“Does she have any major wounds? Is she bleeding from any extremities?” the radio asked.

“No, she looks as though she was in a fight,” Scully assessed. “I took a preliminary exam and didn’t note any swelling to indicate internal bleeding but she was out in the cold, barely dressed when we found her.”

“A medic is on their way,” the radio repeated. “Keep her stable and good job, Dr. Robinson.”

As Scully handed back the radio to Gerald, she looked over her shoulder to see the tour group sitting at the dining table and watching her. Emma was looking worriedly at them while Luke rubbed her back reassuringly.

Sandy entered with a pile of firewood and set it down near Kyle. “I think that should do us for a bit.”

“Where’s Denise?” Kyle asked about the woman who left with Sandy. Kyle let out a frustrated sigh. “You guys have to stay in pairs while we are out here. We are here to find Bigfoot but there are bears, mountain lions and other animals that would love to snack on a lone camper. Bigfoot!”

“Bigfoot?” Scully repeated.

“We’re up here to see him,” Gerald said with a tone of obviousness. “What if Bigfoot gets her?”

Scully held back her protesting and groans to go along with the charade but she didn’t buy that like the rest of the group. There was a pause while everyone glanced around frantically for Denise. Scully didn’t spot her among the crowd.

“She was right behind me,” Sandy said and tucked her almost white blonde hair behind her ear. “I’m sure she’s fine.”

“You need to go out and look for her,” Gerald told her in a tone Scully also associated with a kindergarten teacher - authoritative and patient.

Accepting that she had screwed up, Sandy brushed her arms off and approached the door when the medics entered with Denise behind them.

“There she is!” Sandy announced with a slight worry to her voice.

The medics asked Scully, Mulder and Gerald to step back from Lisa’s body as the two emergency personnel assessed Lisa. They removed the emergency blanket, started an IV and transported her onto a different stretcher.

Deputy Greene entered and looked around the room. He stopped for a moment when he saw Mulder and Scully but approached Kyle instead. He tapped the medic on the shoulder. “I’ll get the park ranger to pick me up when I’m done here and meet you guys down at the hospital.”

The EMT nodded and continued his busy work assessing Lisa before they took her out of the cabin.

“Gentlemen?” Greene began. “You have a second to answer a few questions?”

Kyle nodded and closed the door on the fire that had started. He stood and crossed his arms across his broad chest as he smiled familiarly to the officer. “What’s up, Tim?”

“That’s Deputy to you while I’m on shift,” Greene admonished and Gerald rolled his eyes. “Who found her?”

Kyle raised his hand before tucking it back against his body. “I did.”

“Did you touch her?” Greene asked.

“No, I did sing a song of the multicoloured fountain against a tree off the trail though,” Kyle admitted.

“I touched her,” Scully offered. “I put my fingers on her jugular to check her pulse, attempted to assess for any swelling or internal bleeding and put on the neck brace.”

“I see,” Deputy Greene said and took out his notebook. “I’ll have to take your name and information.”

“We met you the other day after my wife was attacked at the Bully Ranch,” Mulder reminded Greene. “Have you apprehended the culprit?”

“It’s out of my hands, sir,” Greene retorted acerbically. “Did the woman say anything?”

“Lisa hasn’t spoken or woken up,” Scully replied. “There wasn’t much I could do considering my lack of tools and supplies here.”

“You did great,” Mulder reassured her with a comforting rub of his hand over her back. He glared at Greene. “Shouldn’t you just say thank you?”

“Gotta take some statements of what people saw and try to find anything at the scene that you guys drove over,” Greene reminded Mulder. “I don’t suspect we will find much there.”

“Did you want us to back down a two-hour drive to preserve what little you could find outside where wind and the elements could contaminate a crime scene?” Gerald spoke up and Kyle gave him a questioning look. “What? I’ve seen 48 Hour Mystery.”

Greene breathed out dramatically through his nose and clicked his pen again. “I’ll need to get statements from you folks individually.”

“What do you expect the tour to do in the meantime?” Kyle asked with his hands on his hips.

Greene glanced around the space. “Get your folks settled into their bunks and allow me to have maybe an hour of your time to hopefully find out what happened to that poor woman. You of all people-”

“Okay,” Gerald interrupted. “Mitchell and Sophie, if you two want to come over to the dining area, we’ll start with the preliminary rules for our camp out.”

“Glamp out,” Rod spoke up.

Mulder clenched his jaw. “You think we’ll get lucky and Bigfoot will maul that guy?”

“I don’t know if you’re that lucky, Mitchell,” Scully replied and he shook his head dramatically.

They sat around the table while Gerald began explaining the list of events for their overnight stay at the BAT House. Their food was kept in a separate bear-safe box, twenty metres away from the cabin, and everyone was expected to pitch in for dinner prep and clean up. Kyle and Gerald were actually the ones who were cooking the meal and Scully decided to hold her reservations about what they could possibly make until it was served. The look on Mulder’s face told her he was beyond skeptical and that made her smile a little. After they were assigned to their bunks, there would be an exploratory hike that afternoon while it was still light out.

While Gerald was next to be interviewed by Deputy Greene, Kyle showed the campers upstairs to another bathroom with three shower stalls and two sinks. Down the hall were the doors to the seven bedrooms. At the end of the hall were doors that lead to the second floor wrap around porch, one between two rooms and the other next to the bathroom.

“I thought the brochure said we were all in a large room for the night,” Sandy commented almost disappointedly.

Kyle pointed to the empty space above them. “This is a vaulted ceiling and there are really no real walls on this top floor. Just rafters and open space. We let people know in the brochure that there isn’t any privacy because there really isn’t.”

“There’s a roof over that one,” Rod pointed out to the room with a carved bear hanging from the centre of the door.

“Yeah but you have to share with Ger and me and the door stays open all night,” Kyle said and everyone groaned. “That room does have a woodstove which is why no one usually minds. So everyone, pick your room and let’s settle in. I’m going to put the fire on up here and it’s going to get toasty pretty quick.

Mulder grabbed the first room off to the right with an Owl on the door. Scully assumed he wanted to be close to the stairs in case they had to explore in the middle of the night. She watched as the last two couples to claim a room fought with Ro-Sham-Bo of who would share with their tour guides.

Inside the room was a plush double bed with a red flannel quilt across the mattress and starch white covers on the pillow cases. It was less than ideal to be camping for the night in a cabin that required a fire to keep the heat going but Scully had endured worse in less than ideal conditions. At least right now, she and Mulder weren’t hurt and they didn’t have to sleep across from Rod and Sandy while they made bad jokes about keeping hands visible or hanky panky under blankets.

“You know, this isn’t that bad,” Mulder said as he sat on the soft bed. “Running water. Toilets. Not like Kent Island but this bed is softer than my couch.”

“Everything is softer than that couch,” she retorted with a smile.

Mulder scoffed. “Not _everything_.”

The interior air of the cabin was warming up considerably with the fires burning. Scully pulled her toiletry kit from her backpack before she shed her vest. She put her flannel vest inside the top of her backpack with her weapon with the safety on. Mulder followed her cue to get rid of his weapon and vest. They tucked their bags under the bed and waited for Deputy Greene to question them.

“What are you thinking about, Scully?” Mulder asked in a low voice as he pulled her to sit next to where he had lied down

The conversations of other couples were echoing up to the beams overhead and around them. Scully felt nervous he was using her name. “ _Mitchell_ …”

He coaxed her to lay next to him and she turned to face him on the bed. “I’m asking you, not whoever we are supposed to be.”

She closed her eyes and he kissed her forehead. “I’m not sure. I am worried I’ll have a nightmare in the middle of the night and shout your name.”

“Too bad I can’t make you shout my name for _other_ reasons,” he whispered against her hairline as his hand pulled on her hip. “There was a recent _wax_ I was curious about.”

She felt her cheeks grow hot. “We’re working.”

The pressure of a familiar appendage against her belly from Mulder’s waist told her he didn’t care and he kissed her on the lips. He kissed her cheek and pushed against her. “Take a walk with me after dinner.”

His kisses reached the spot on her neck and he moved on top of her as he found his way to the V of her thighs.

“We can’t…” she started to protest but his hips cut off any further arguments. The scruff of his beard along her neck sent jolts to her centre. “ _Okay_ …”

Mulder rocked his hips against hers and she relaxed into the feeling of his body on hers. This was definitely not for their cover but she didn’t care at this moment. He made her feel everything she fought against after she realized how she felt. Life was too short to worry about why or when. Her hormones were getting the better of her too. She wanted to feel him inside of her in the danger of the great outdoors around them.

“Tonight,” he whispered as he kissed her collarbone and his hand slipped down the back of her trousers.

“Yes,” she promised.

There were voices in the hallway but her body was too focused on the sensations of Mulder’s desire for her pressing against her centre. She pulled on the material of his shirt as she clawed for control over her hormones.

“Dr. Robinson is in the Owl’s Nest,” Kyle said.

A knock at the door prompted Mulder to roll off of her. He pulled the pillow under his head over his groin and Scully used the mirror on the wall to tidy her appearance before opening the door.

“Dr. Robinson?” Deputy Greene asked with his hat in his hand. “Do you have a moment?”

“Come in,” Scully invited but Greene hesitated outside the door. “No?”

“Would you join me upstairs in the lookout room?” Greene invited. “I’d like to speak with both you and your husband.”

“Of course,” she agreed.

Mulder and Scully glanced at each other curiously before they donned their vests again. They followed Greene out of the hallway and up to the lookout room on the third floor to speak.

“Keep in mind, we are being listened to,” Mulder muttered quietly as Greene shut the door.

“I know who attacked your wife,” Deputy Greene said to Mulder. “And it wasn’t Andrew Horton.”


	10. Snap, crackle, roar

Mulder’s ears felt like they were ringing with the information they had heard. They were up at a high altitude, the temperatures around the cabin moved from hot to cold and he was concerned with how they had found Lisa Wylie in such an abused state.

“What do you mean it wasn’t Andrew Horton?” Mulder repeated.

“He doesn’t smoke, I don’t know what cedar wood smells like but he doesn’t…” Greene began. “And he has a solid alibi for Wednesday evening.”

“Which was what?” Scully asked. “There was a time gap he couldn’t account for.”

Mulder clenched his jaw. “Bristol said he recognized him-”

“He has a twin brother,” Greene cut him off. “We haven’t been able to locate him but we think it’s him. I should reiterate that I think it’s him but-”

“Why?” Scully asked as she crossed her arms under her breasts and shivered slightly.

Mulder put his arm around her without thinking and gave Greene a challenging stare to comment on it. “What’s the twin brother’s name?”

“Daniel,” Greene answered.

“Why wasn’t he mentioned during the interview?” Scully asked with tension in her voice.

Disorganization and inadequate police work frustrated both of them when there were lives on the line.

“I’m not getting any help from my guys on this. I’m running this investigation pretty much alone,” Greene reminded them. “I did a more thorough background check like you asked. I’m looking further. Right now, I have to focus on helping Lisa Wylie and finding out who hurt her.”

Mulder put his hands on his hips. “Well good luck with that.”

“If there is something out in the woods attacking people-” Greene started.

“Someone,” Scully interrupted. “I don’t accept the idea that this could be done by an animal - no matter how advanced it could be.”

“You’re subscribing to the notion there could be a simian creature, more specifically a Sasquatch-like creature that we might call Bigfoot out in these woods?” Mulder clarified.

The statement was reflective to the kind of clarifying questions Scully posed to Mulder as they dealt with opposing theories. These questions were so he could find out exactly what she believed and how far from his theory she was. It was like a verbal chess match with the end game being the truth.

“If there were such a creature, it wouldn’t be violent,” Scully reiterated. “What we’ve seen in the past to inhibit more violent tendencies were more man than animal.”

“The Jersey Devil,” Mulder acknowledged.

Greene shook his head. “The Jersey _who_?”

“A case we investigated in 1993. No other sightings have been confirmed since then but it was a carnivorous family of simian-like humans who travelled into Atlantic City to prey on unsuspecting victims as their source of food,” Mulder explained. “I don’t think this is that. I think what I saw was probably more animal than man, just like Scully suggested.”

Green nodded slowly. “Then you best keep an eye out for whoever is lurking in these woods.”

“Thanks for the advice,” Mulder retorted sardonically.

Greene put his Stetson back on his head and tipped it towards Scully before exiting the lookout room. Mulder smiled tightly and then waited until Greene had closed the door before he turned to her.

“I still think there’s some freaky deaky connection to Bigfoot,” he told her.

Scully sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I’m afraid you’re probably right.”

Mulder clapped his hands together. “Hot damn!”

“Slow down,” she replied as she held up one hand between them. “Once this tour is over and we get back to Vail, we still need to catch a killer or killers.”

Mulder fought back a smile that she was willing to admit there was something up there beyond wild animals known to science. “Okay.”

“Let’s go,” she prompted and she took a step towards the open door.

Mulder pulled her towards him before she could open it and turned her to face him. With his body against hers, he pushed her against the door and it clicked shut. His hand was flat against the glass inside the top half of the door while his knee snuck between her legs. His mouth covered hers quickly before she could protest and she opened her lips to invite him in.

Her fingers pulled at his hair while her hips pushed and rocked on his thigh. They were working but for some reason his need to satisfy his basic urge to kiss her was his cardinal thought. She replied to his passion in kind with the same fervour he had for her in their car outside the Bully Ranch. This only encouraged him. He adjusted himself between her legs and pushed the firmness of his cock into her harder and she quivered in his arms.

Scully broke the kiss first and panted as his beard scratched along her collarbone. Her hips moved in rhythm with his. “We have… oh….work…”

“Yeah…” he growled before taking a nip at the skin exposed. “We do…”

“I can’t…” she started but her protests were weak. “We can’t...”

Mulder kissed her lips softly before turning her away from him again. Scully’s hands pressed on the glass while she pushed her backside against the front of his hiking pants. His hand moved from her hip and inside the waist of her trousers. As she gasped at the contact, Mulder bravely slid his hand under her panties to find her bare sex waiting for him. He groaned loudly at the feeling of the slickness of her excitement on his fingers.

“ _Fuck_ , Scully,” he groaned as his finger slipped between her bare lips. She whimpered as his finger circled her clit once and then twice more. “I need you….”

Her face turned towards the stairs and he could see she was watching for anyone to approach their tryst.

“I want to feel you come on my fingers,” he whispered and she whimpered again.

As his middle finger pushed inside her tight walls, she let out a quiet but high pitched squeak.

“You… need… _oh_ …” she attempted.

“You can tell me to stop,” he assured her as his hips pushed against her backside.

She shook her head.

“Keep going?” he asked as he rocked again.

Their rhythm continued and he felt a swelling familiar to her being close to a release but there was something holding her back. There was too much going on right now. Mulder assumed she wanted him but needed space from all this that was happening to let go.

Just doing this to her felt good for him, to be able to help her find a release after all she had endured in the last week. He wanted to keep going, shed their trousers and fuck her quickly but there were too many variables.

She sighed and put her hand on his wrist. “No…”

Mulder’s fingers stopped moving inside her and he kissed her cheek. “Stop?”

She nodded slowly and he pulled his hand from her waist. She turned to him and looked down at the bulge in his trousers.

“I want you inside me but we have-”

“The tour,” he finished sadly. “I know.”

“You are too good at that,” she told him as she pulled a tissue from her pocket for him to use to clean up with. “And I think if this was just you and me up here instead of a work thing, I would have got down on all fours-”

“Don’t finish that thought, Sophie,” he warned as he dried off his fingers. He’d need to wash his hands before they left for the tour but this would have to do for now. “My resolve is barely holding it together.”

She wiped at the edge of her mouth and glanced down to his groin. “Do you want a minute before we go down there?”

Mulder shook his head and bounced on his heels. “I’m trying to think of something to change its mind but it was pretty determined to have you.”

“It?”

“My dick,” he joked and she rolled her eyes.

“It’s all hormones,” she replied. “Just think of alien bounty hunters in lingerie.”

Mulder made a face and looked down at his deflating member. “Would you look at that.”

Scully laughed and pulled on her shirt in an attempt not to appear like she was just being kissed.

He smiled.

“What?” she questioned.

“It only helps our cover,” he pointed out as he reached for the door handle.

Scully sighed. “In that case, leave the lipstick on your mouth.”

“Is it Sheila Fontaine bad?” he asked as he wiped at the edge of his lip.

She shook her head. “My shade is a little more subdued.”

 

**** **** ****

 

Mulder and Scully helped with the last of the dishes from their lunch pit stop before they took off for their tour of the area. The slight grin on his face was probably a dead giveaway to what they were doing in the lookout room on the third floor but he didn’t care. He was going to take advantage of every opportunity to behave like a couple should while they were there. What delighted Mulder even more was how different Scully was this time versus when they worked the case in Arcadia Falls.

Each touch and smile at one another in Arcadia was forced. Each night when they went to bed, Mulder laid awake in the spare room down the hall on a mattress on the floor and watched the hall for her footsteps that never came. He tried to go to her and apologize. He tried to joke with her to make her finally relax around him or forgive him but he couldn’t get past the walls she put up.

There were no walls between them now. Of course, this was much different because their relationship status had changed drastically since then. Their anger at one another during their demotion from the X-Files to working under Kersh had taken over so much. He couldn’t see past what she didn’t support and she couldn’t see past what he was pushing for.

It was definitely more complicated than that. They had lost everything, almost kissed, almost lost each other and then were reassigned to work for someone who didn’t want them there. It was a lot of almosts and he was sick of not getting what he wanted.

Now, he had more of what he wanted and with the person he needed the most in life. Maybe down the road if he was sure of himself, he would ask her to marry him but he wasn’t entirely sure that’s what she wanted for their future. He didn’t think she wanted anyone else but maybe marriage wasn’t something Scully needed.

Cohabiting this week had already proved to be a difficult sea to navigate. He could tell that she was annoyed by his messiness and lack of care towards the same things she held dear. It was hard for him to care about a space that he had no attachment to. The only place he tried to tidy up while he was there was in her apartment because he appreciated so much that she invited him into that space that proved to be a sanctuary for her.

If he was being realistic, marriage probably wasn’t on the table yet. They had just started dating but Mulder wasn’t versed to the ways of normal romance. He fell into every relationship he had in the past and with Scully, he waded slowly, almost painfully, into the romance to ensure it was something they really wanted.

He knew he was attracted to Scully but her friendship and their work had meant so much to them. He felt confident he wouldn’t lose her over something trivial but he respected her enough not to let those trivial things have a standing.

As he dried the last reusable plastic plate and put it on the pile, he looked at Scully as she dried her hands from the soapy dishwater. Scully untied the apron from her waist and he walked over to kiss her on the cheek.

“What’s that for?” she asked skeptically.

“I like you,” he said simply with a shrug.

Sandy groaned from behind Scully. “You guys are so cute! Rod why don’t you kiss me and tell me you like me?”

Rod shook his head. “It doesn’t get me anywhere.”

“You’re an ass, man,” Mulder admonished.

“I am an ass-man,” Rod joked back and Sandy laughed loudly.

Scully sighed as their nice moment had been spoiled and Mulder shook his head at Rod with his lips in a half frown.

“Okay gang!” Gerald announced. “Use the bathrooms, get your outdoor hiking gear on and grab a bottle of water for your small orange packs we’re supplying you with.”

Among the crowd, a few lined up for the bathrooms while others gathered water from the cooler outside the kitchen. Mulder grabbed two triangle bags for them while Scully approached with water bottles.

“I don’t tell you stuff because I want it to get me somewhere,” Mulder mumbled as he put a water bottle into his bag. He pulled a protein bar from his pants side pocket and stuffed it in the bag too. “Just so you know.”

“I know,” Scully replied quickly and pulled on his lapel of his vest to bring him down to her face to kiss him on the cheek. “But it gets you somewhere anyway.”

“You all set?” he asked as she donned her toque and jacket.

She nodded. “You have your camera?”

Mulder pulled out the Canon Rebel he ‘borrowed’ from the forensics lab a year ago and never gave back.

“Just a quick FYI everyone, no flash photography,” Kyle announced and pointed to Mulder. “Keep your flash off. We don’t want to scare it when we see it.”

“When?” Scully mumbled.

“I have a good feeling about this,” Luke spoke up as he zipped up his jacket and bounced on his heels. “If you get a picture, Mitchell, you need to send it to me for my kids!”

“Sure thing,” Mulder agreed.

“Your kids?” Scully asked.

Emma nodded. “Luke teaches science at Shadle Park.”

Scully couldn’t hide her shock. “And you believe in ghosts and Bigfoot?”

“You’re here and you’re a doctor,” Luke replied and she had to give him that one. “I just think what we know of science can’t be all there is.”

Mulder put his arms around her and gave her biceps a little squeeze. “I like this guy.”

“Then I’ll tell you the same thing I told Mitchell,” Scully began. “If you think you see this thing, don’t run off into the woods alone to look for it.”

Luke looked at Emma and smiled. “She made me promise the same thing before we left Spokane.”

Scully turned to Mulder and poked a finger into his chest. “Don’t get any crazy ideas while we’re out there.”

Mulder put his hand over his heart and raised his right hand. “I, Mitchell Robinson, solemnly swear, not to chase after Bigfoot in the woods and ditch you.”

Emma laughed. “You guys are cute.”

Scully’s cheeks flushed and she shook her head. “I’m holding you to that Mitchell.”

“Soph, I wouldn’t ditch you,” Mulder retorted and he wondered if she cared he had given her undercover name a nickname. “I need you to see it too so you don’t tell me you didn’t see it. Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. It pays to keep an open mind-”

“But not so open your brains fall out,” she finished the quote for him and he felt so delighted, he pulled her to him and kissed her cheek. Scully shook her head with her lips pursed but he could tell she was amused.

“See, Em? Carl Sagan quotes are romantic,” Luke said and they laughed collectively.

Scully shook her head at Mulder but he could tell she was enjoying herself.

The remainder of the group were gathered around the front door and Kyle held up his hands. “I need all eyes on me so can everyone have a seat in the living room.”

The group maneuvered collectively into the living room and Kyle held up a map.

“This is the trail we are going to be taking,” Gerald pointed. “At no point when you are on the trail, should you venture off of it to explore on your own. We are going to keep the chatter to a minimum but if you do spot any wild predators such as mountain lions, bears or our elusive Bigfoot, you need to alert the rest of the group.”

Kyle held up a hand to his lips and then raised it in the air. “This is the signal if you see a predator. Everyone do it with me.”

“Not exactly the tactical finesse of the FBI,” Mulder whispered to Scully and she nudged him.

“If you spot any other wildlife, leave it be. Don’t litter, don’t break anything, respect the space around you,” Gerald informed them.

Kyle clapped his hands once. “Okay. Everyone stay in formation. I will take up the rear, Gerald will lead and we’ll try to make it to Bigfoot’s shelter!”

Gerald pointed to the map on the wall next to the fireplace. “These are the trails we’re going to be taking.”

“What are those markers?” Mulder asked.

“Places we’ve had sightings!” Gerald said enthusiastically. “On our last few trips, we’ve seen him and if we are lucky, you’ll see him too!”

The crowd became excited with chatter as they moved closer to the wall to take a closer look.

“I carry a GPS and a compass so I have exact coordinates for this map,” Kyle announced.

Mulder pushed through the crowd and saw the pattern of green, yellow and red markers through the trails. He had a suspicion it was related to why he and Scully had been assigned there.

“Green is for good trails, yellow means we’ve seen evidence of larger animals but not the actual predator,” Gerald explained.

“What are the red dots?” Mulder asked.

“Places we should steer clear of,” Gerald said seriously.

There were exactly six red dots on that map.

  
*** *** ***

  
The group crossed the road and hiked up a steep worn trail for twenty minutes, marked with orange tape on tall trees and branches. Scully and Mulder were in the middle of the group but if it was up to Mulder, he would have chosen to be at the front or back. Being at the edge of either end of the group could mean less likelihood to be overheard if they needed to speak in private. Right now, every remark Mulder made could be commented on by someone else and there was no privacy.

Most of the group were using hiking sticks to navigate the terrain and you could spot them from yards away due to the orange packs they were wearing. He assumed it was to keep them from being prey.

Mountain lions were ambush predators and pursued a wide variety of prey. Their food sources primarily included deer and livestock that they stalked for miles before making their kill. They survived in low populated areas which meant that the area they were currently hiking in would be prime hunting grounds.

As Mulder recited these facts to Scully on their hike, he received a questioning look from Emma and Luke.

“Don’t you find these kinds of facts interesting?” Mulder asked at the look Luke gave him. “You’re a science teacher.”

“I’ve never heard anyone excitedly give a lecture on mountain lions as though possibly being its prey was a good thing,” Luke commented.

Mulder grinned as they continued up the trail. “I think a mountain lion was following me on my run the other day. If you’re going to go, I’d rather it be something fantastical than something like-”

“Autoerotic asphyxiation?” Scully interrupted with an impish grin.

Mulder’s cheeks felt pink while Emma and Luke laughed heartily.

Gerald stopped in his tracks and held up a hand. The group went silent as they watched him for a sign of what to do next. Gerald held his arm out towards the left fork in the trail and put his finger to his lips to silence the crowd.

Quietly as they could, they followed Gerald up the path as it veered off to the left. As they walked along and came to a clearing, there was a makeshift shelter at the lee of where the mountain curved in and pushed up at a forty-five-degree angle. Leaning against the rock ledge were thin logs about eight feet long. From where Mulder stood, they looked to be broken with hands instead of tools. Long branches were propped along the logs and at first blush, it felt more intricate than what an animal might create for itself. The notion that birds build nests on instinct with mud and twigs without instruction entered Mulder’s mind but he kept his wilder theories of what the shelter would be for in check.

“Guys, it looks like his shelter is still there. We’re not going to disturb it,” Gerald whispered loudly. “What we will do is stop and observe the space. If we can get a little closer without leaving our scent on it too much, we will.”

Mulder leaned into Scully. “These guys think they’re the real deal.”

She pursed her lips and held back a smile. “Shhh.”

“If we stop here, we might see some footprints where he frequently walks!” Kyle whispered loudly from the back of the group and everyone began searching for footprints.

Mulder spotted some large indents in the mud that was clear from snow and he took a few pictures. Flash off, of course.

Scully knelt to the ground to inspect the footprints and looked up at Mulder. “I’ve never seen anything like these.”

Mulder understood her meaning. Not like the footprints in the forensic file. “Authentic looking?”

Scully nodded and he took another picture with her hand in the frame for reference.

“Let’s keep walking towards the shelter,” Kyle instructed.

Gerald led the group to stand ten feet from the shelter. Inside was a bed of branches and a pile of small bones that looked like they could be from squirrels or birds. It looked like a primitive setting. Mulder’s first concern was the closest place this creature could find water. Those were paramount needs for any large animal.

Scully nudged Mulder as she nodded towards a small stream of water that had created a rivet in the rock. He grinned at her at the idea she might be reading his mind but she merely shook her head. The water they saw lead to a small pool to their left. Gravity suggested water streams had to go down but it must have funnelled into an underground stream for the other plant life in the area.

Mulder sniffed off to his right and held his nose. A few others in the group caught a whiff and began to groan.

“Who did that?” he asked about the offending smell.

“Bigfoot’s latrine must be close by!” Gerald announced with excitement.

“Excrement wasn’t in the brochure,” Scully muttered.

“It’s _exciting_!” Kyle said to the group.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever felt excited about excrement,” she whispered to Mulder.

“Not like monkey pee?” Mulder teased.

Scully shook her head with another smile she was fighting. “Shut up.”

Kyle began making a low growling noise before calling into the woods like a wild beast. Scully’s eyes went wide and Mulder covered his mouth.

“He’s calling to Bigfoot!” Gerald explained.

As they continued down the path and back to the fork where they had taken a left, Kyle held his hand to his face and the other up in the air. Everyone in the group mimicked him and waited to spot the predator.

A low growling came up the hill from down the path and Mulder reached out for Scully’s arm.

“ _There_ ,” someone whispered loudly and Mulder looked around frantically.

“To the left!” another whisper from the crowd and he looked left from the shelter.

A patch of dark brown fur flashed between the trees and he spotted something rustling beyond them.

“I see it!” Mulder whispered as the form came closer towards them.

Around the bend and through the trees, came a Grizzly bear as it stood on its hind legs and opened its mouth. The group collectively froze in place as the sound of a giant feral beast began to roar in their direction.

“Run,” Scully whispered and pulled on Mulder’s jacket. “For fuck’s sakes, _run_.”

The group was quiet for a moment as they contemplated Scully's advice. What were they supposed to do in impending danger? No one there was an outdoors expert except for the skills Kyle and Gerald listed on the brochure. This was the most ill-advised trip into the woods since they took off from a partnership conference without food and water to search for invisible men with glowing red eyes.

“No!!” Gerald whispered louder than Scully. “Back up everyone, slowly and quietly.”

Kyle and Gerald began to make themselves as tall as possible and began shouting at the bear as everyone moved slowly away from the area. Once they were ten feet beyond where they had spotted the Grizzly, everyone broke out in a run. They moved down the path and back towards the cabin. Mulder ran behind the others in the group. His legs pushed off the ground, propelling him forward as he sprinted down the path and away from the bear. He watched Scully running in front of him and suddenly he heard Kyle and Gerald swearing as they caught up to them.

Mulder tried to listen for a bear or any other wild animal in the distance but all he could hear was the tour group yelling as they made their way out of danger.

It was adrenaline alone that pushed them down the path and eventually onto the road near their cabin. Gerald and Kyle were laughing with relief with the rest of the group. Mulder felt a flash of disappointment cross his face but he tried to hide it from their company.

Scully noticed. “Were you hoping-”

“Yeah,” he admitted quietly. “Silly but… I thought for sure maybe we would see _something_.”

“Maybe… _later_?” she hinted and his face lit up. “Alone? If we can?”

“Guys, that was exciting but we should mark that trail for bears,” Gerald announced as he pulled a spool of red trail tape from his pocket. He tied off the entrance to where they had just exited with an X and Mulder gave Scully a nudge. “We will try to continue around the area! Our hike isn’t over yet!”

Mulder grabbed Scully’s gloved hand and took up the rear of the group as Kyle led the group down the road and up another trail.

“Do you think it’s at all possible that bear could be what others have seen in the past?” Scully proposed and lowered her voice to not be heard by the others. “The COD for the six couples?”

Mulder shook his head. “You said it yourself. It didn’t look to be the work of an animal but I wouldn’t hold it against our friend in the woods if he’s come out to snack on a few leftovers.”

Scully shuddered. “I think I’d still rather take on a bear than a Mothman.”

“You can at least _see_ a bear coming,” Mulder agreed.

“Keep close everyone,” Kyle announced. “We’re going to head up to another place we’ve spotted Bigfoot before.”

Mulder’s wilderness skills were not as strong as he would have liked when it came to recognizing the different trails and landmarks. He could be observant to so much however when immersed in nature, the forest began to blend together in his mind.

“Indian Guide training was no match for _this_ trip,” Mulder muttered as he tried to distinguish the space around him.

“At least you can differentiate between Bigfoot, Bears and Mothmen tracks,” Scully said with a wry smile.

“You just have to be so _cute_ , don’t you?” he commented and she shook her head as her smile grew.

Mulder’s eidetic memory was failing him. This wasn’t like information on a page or a face in a crowd. The trails they were hiking in the Colorado mountains seemed all too similar. Tall pine trees enveloped their paths, rocks stood out from the snow and there was mud at their feet.

As they turned the corner after fifteen minutes of walking, the path became all too familiar.

“Mitchell,” Scully said as she grabbed for his hand.

He was already nodding. The crime scene of the last murder was fourteen feet away to the right off their trail and the only evidence of its existence was the yellow tape still around one of the trees in the distance.

There was a feeling of dread that began to take over the adrenaline in his system and his flight or fight responses were honing in to seek out any danger.

The woods were still alive with sound, which gave him some solace. Any beast that posed a danger to prey such as birds or small animals would quiet the area. Just two years ago in Florida, he and Scully quickly recognized that the presence of a Mothman did just that. Before Bigfoot approached, he would be alert to the lack of noise and hopefully be able to prevent an attack.

“Are we _not_ wearing bear bells for a reason?” Mulder asked as they walked past the crime scene.

No one else seemed to notice the yellow tape in the group and Mulder wondered if Scully would comment on it. So far, the group remained silent and on edge as they came down from being chased off by a bear.

“We want to be able to spot Bigfoot,” Gerald explained from behind them. “If we’re too loud, we’ll scare him off.”

As the rest of the team took a hard right past where Deputy Greene’s cousin had lost her life, Mulder pulled on Scully’s hand and they lingered back a moment.

“What are you doing?” she whispered as she glanced back to the crowd.

Gerald walked past them as Mulder leaned down to kiss Scully on the cheek. Public displays of affection made people very uncomfortable and people would always give space when a kiss was happening. It was advantageous Scully could differentiate between work and affection. If they were on this case one or two years ago, they would be facing more challenges than just finding a killer. Working through their emotions in Arcadia was bad enough and Mulder had only kissed her cheek and grabbed at her as he thought he should. He admitted to only enjoying it a little.

“What?” she asked as he pushed his face into her neck.

“I want to see the area,” he whispered to her.

“You think they’ll believe you felt inspired to make out with me right here?” she asked.

“I’ve been laying a groundwork of a very _affectionate_ husband thus far,” he reminded her and she nodded.

He took four steps towards the crime scene and peered over the place where the last two victims were found. A small amount of blood splatter covered the shallow snow and Mulder could almost picture where their last breath was taken before they were ruthlessly killed.

“Mitchell,” Scully whispered as she approached.

“I just want to get a sense of what happened,” he said as he looked around.

She looked at the crime scene tape and then down to where the bodies had obviously been recovered. “ _God_.”

“I know,” he whispered.

The snow absorbed the blood splatter and due to the temperature drop after the CSU team had worked, a frozen display had been set. The macabre scene was easily painted in his mind from what he remembered of the pictures.

A snap of twigs in the distance alerted his ears and he heard a low voice. Mulder led Scully a step away from the crime scene and pulled her to him to place his mouth firmly on hers.

She responded in kind as they played the part of Mitchell and Sophie Robinson with a kiss back. Her tongue tasted so good against his and she gripped his jacket tightly.

“Uh, hey love birds?” Gerald said awkwardly and they broke their kiss to look at him sheepishly. “We’ve got this _hike_ …”

Mulder gave Gerald his best grin and wiped at the edge of his mouth. “Sorry. Something about all this fresh Colorado air.”

As they followed Gerald back onto the trail, Mulder took a few pictures of where they just left. When they rejoined the group, everyone was waiting and looking around for where Kyle announced could be another sighting location.

He held his breath as he listened to the forest around him. March would be less noisy than the spring and summer months where they found themselves searching for a monster in the woods.

A bald eagle flew overhead and cried out its arrival to the area. The group looked up as it passed the clearing of trees and the white sky illuminated its frame. Even so far up in the air, the span of its wings was impressive and there was a feeling of awe that overtook him.

Mulder thought about the differences in their upbringings that brought them this point in their lives. As a child, Scully’s father had pressed upon her to respect nature because it had no respect for the human condition and specifically her, in return. As a child with surrogate father figures to give him advice and education, Mulder learned as much as a privileged child could in Massachusetts. Out here, they were left with the training the FBI had given them and their guides to get them home safely. Neither felt adequate when he thought about the ways their lives had been put in danger over the last seven years out of their elements among civilization.

Peering into the wildlife that was being blamed for the deaths of those hikers, he understood it could have very well been anything else that killed them. The evidence was solid it was not an animal. Out of respect for the thing that functioned without a second thought about the people who tread into its territory, it was only right that they cleared the name of whatever was being blamed.

Once on a case, he declared the tangible evidence of something like Big Blue was enough to prove their worth in the basement and bridge the gap between her hard science and his theories. She argued later in a hospital while he worried over his mother that nothing acts in contradiction to nature, just what they know of it.

What they could agree on at this point was that a large simian creature was not murdering people in cold blood or maliciously attacking pairs of people. That accusation was a contradiction against everything science and nature understood of each other.

“We’re going to keep hiking,” Gerald announced quietly after the eagle had passed.

“No one seems as concerned as I do that we just made it out of an encounter with a _bear_ ,” Mulder whispered to Scully as they began moving again.

“Maybe because everyone is trying to see Bigfoot,” Luke said as he and Emma walked up behind them. “When I see it, I won’t even care we almost got eaten after smelling a toilet.”

“ _Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known,_ ” Scully spoke up.

“Your wife is romantic,” Luke said earnestly about the Sagan quote as they continued past Mulder and Scully on the trail.

Mulder laughed quietly and rubbed his hand up Scully’s back. “You okay?”

“I didn’t survive an abduction, cancer and the Antarctic just to get eaten by a bear in the woods in Colorado,” she whispered tersely as they trudged along. Mulder pulled on her hand to stop them and she looked up at him reluctantly. “I’m fine. Keep your camera handy.”

Mulder pulled the SLR camera to his eye and snapped a picture of Scully as they walked. The focus narrowed in around her face with a soft fade in the background while her red hair under her ash grey toque contrasted against the flora and fauna of the woods. She wouldn’t turn to face him and was obviously attempting to ignore him, which only made him more persistent. The shutter clicked three more times and on the last shot, he captured a flush taking over her cheeks as she bit her lip.

“ _Gorgeous_ ,” he said and it wasn’t for their cover. “Ridiculously beautiful, I should say.”

“You two are too cute but it’s almost gross,” Sandy said with an accusing appreciation.

It was a mixture of jealousy and happiness but it was odd all the same.

“Thanks?” Mulder replied and she cackled again.

A grey sky began to turn hazy and Gerald stopped them on their hike once they reached another clearing.

“I hate to be the one to say this but I don’t know if Bigfoot is going to show himself today,” he announced with a genuine sadness Mulder almost believed. “It’s not safe for us to be out at night and I don’t think after our meeting with that Grizzly, we want to risk seeing him or his friends.”

“There’s a wonderful meal waiting for us back at the cabin,” Kyle spoke up.

The group collectively whined their disapproval but turned around back towards the road regardless. The group was collectively excited about the shelter, the bear encounter and the idea there would be a hike back tomorrow for a possible sighting.

“You think we’ll make it for a look-see later?” Mulder asked as they took up the rear on the trail.

“I hope so,” Scully whispered. “Something about sneaking out in the woods has me _all_ a tingle.”

Mulder reached behind her and gave her arms a squeeze. “You’re flirty today.”

“ _Now_ he notices,” Scully deadpanned in the way that Mulder liked to play with her and he laughed.

The walk back felt as though it was faster than the walk there and he wondered if maybe it was because no one was stopping randomly to look for more signs of Bigfoot. If Mulder was rating this excursion so far, he would say it was exciting.

They saw a shelter and latrine but Mulder couldn’t be sure if that was man-made. They almost became lunch for a Grizzly and saw the attack site. Compared to some of the other excursions they had on a whim, Mulder felt it wasn’t a total bust. He was also looking forward to sneaking out that night with Scully to search for Bigfoot on their own.

When the group gathered back at the cabin, there was a white note taped to the window on the door. Scully and Mulder approached as Gerald took the paper from the fastening and opened it. Gerald read the paper quickly before handing it to Kyle.

“Fuck them,” Gerald whispered.

Kyle crumpled the paper in his hands before dropping it to the ground. As he entered the cabin angrily, Mulder crouched down to pick up the paper to read an ominous warning.

_“Two more will die tonight.”_

Mulder handed the paper to Scully and they shared a knowing look.


	11. Sleeping Bags

The mood in the cabin was sombre and quiet for the rest of the evening, despite having had a close encounter with a bear and spotting the shelter for Bigfoot. Gerald and Kyle had changed from being their usual outgoing selves that were hosting an evening to speaking in hushed tones in the corner of the living room while the group ate.

Mulder and Scully got ready for bed as a ruse with the rest of the group and said their goodnights. As they donned their long johns and put on their hiking pants, they could hear the group through the walls as they all quietly settled in for the night.

“Do you think that they’ll be able to hear us if we use the side door?” she asked as she pulled on her undershirt.

The side door to the second story porch was their planned exit strategy while the group slept soundly. If they could position themselves by the door to watch for intruders, they might catch the killer. They both agreed that Bigfoot wasn’t about to leave an ominous warning.

Mulder shook his head. “I tested it earlier and it was fairly quiet. Hopefully, no one locks it while we’re trying to catch Bigfoot.”

Scully gave him a look that implied more doubt than hope.

“You and I are both packing, we know how to make a wayward shelter for the night and if all else fails, we hide our packs and bang on the door to act like we were sleepwalking,” he negotiated in his own way of breaking down in a way he knew would soothe her. She didn’t say anything. “I’ll steal a key from our hosts.”

“Better,” she approved.

Their plan was to scout the outside of the building while they waited for the assailants to show up. The threatening note was to take two more lives tonight and, at the risk of breaking cover, Mulder and Scully were determined to expose them.

Mulder listened at the door while the cabin began to quiet down and Scully sat on the edge of the bed as her body showed no signs of anxiety or fear. Inside, there were probably the same emotions he was expressing. Since he had met her, he watched her internalize her own heartaches and fears. He witnessed incredible strength as she pushed herself through cancer, learning she was barren and losing a child. She had been kidnapped, almost killed and stripped down by men and monsters alike.

Mulder knelt down in front of her and put his head on her lap.

“What’s going on?” she asked as she ran her fingers through his hair.

Mulder moved his hands along her thighs and to the curve of her backside. He pressed his face into the crease of her legs and she hummed in question. When he looked up at her, he knew that he was asking her to face another potential danger. After everything she had just been through, how could he?

“Mulder?” she whispered.

“I-” he started and shook his head.

“Don’t tell me you feel apprehensive about me going out there tonight,” she scorned him and his eyebrows shot up. “That is what you’re going to say wasn’t it?”

He shook his head at her in disbelief. “I know you don’t believe in clairvoyance but that’s spooky.”

“I thought that was your name,” she countered with a grin.

Mulder pushed his face back into her legs and she tapped on his upper back after a few moments. “No.”

“No, you weren’t going to say that?” she clarified.

“No… I mean no don’t go out with me,” he told her reluctantly.

Scully sighed. “I have never wanted you to go alone on anything, Mulder. If you went now and something happened because I wasn’t there, I couldn’t forgive myself.”

He understood the logic but regardless of her argument, it didn’t sit well with him.

“I’m armed. I’m probably more hyper aware of my surroundings due to the recent attack from Pfaster and in the bar,” she began. “I’m also a better shot than you.”

“My shoulder would say otherwise,” he muttered into her lap and they both laughed.

The cabin was beginning to quiet down but there was still some movement going on beyond their door. They had some time before their stakeout and admittedly, in a moment of naivety, Mulder had thought he could convince her to stay inside. Being left behind was always to Scully’s chagrin and dismay. Inevitably, he had to admit that the only benefit to ditching her in the past was when she found him and saved his ass from potential death.

“What’s putting doubt in your mind?” she asked him.

Mulder looked up at her again and shook his head. “I’m more worried about a man being out there and overpowering either of us. I’m anticipating someone we might have crossed paths with since arriving in Vail.”

Scully shook her head. “I’m sure you have a theory on who the culprit might be for these murders if they’re directed towards the Adventure Tours.”

Mulder shrugged as he moved his hands beneath her undershirt. He was appreciating talking about the case while being free to grope her a little. He used to think that this would be distracting for him on the case but it was surprisingly a great tool to focus his mind as he made the connections.

His fingers brushed down the soft skin on her back, careful of the injuries she sustained from her tussle with Pfaster. He laid his head sideways on her lap as he studied the pillowcases on the bed.

“What if the killer wants us to believe that it’s Andrew or Wesley Horton or at least imply their involvement while they’re off doing something else?” he theorized quietly. “Someone who would have seemed obvious had it not been for the connection to the Horton’s lost business?”

“A diversion from the real killer to get us off their trail?” she mused and he nodded. “The suspect list so far is still pretty long. I didn’t think we were assuming Wesley and Andrew were behind this.”

“They seem like the obvious choice,” he pointed out.

“Isn’t that _my_ line?” she countered and he shook his head to say ‘I don’t know.’ Scully sighed. “Look, the fact is that you definitely believe you saw a large simian looking creature walking through town. There was evidence of that creature in the woods. The murders are taking place right here where we are camping. At the very least, we’ll be able to stop these killers from getting two more victims. And if you try to baby me through the rest of this investigation-”

“I won’t,” he stopped her as he held up his hands in defence. “I know you’re capable.”

Scully leaned to him and he took the hint to kiss her on the lips. He pressed his forehead against hers and they had a quiet moment of resolve to settle themselves before their stakeout. It could be a long night out there.

They had been so affectionate and active the entire trip. Mulder expected his libido to cool down once they got up on the hiking tour. Things that morning, however, proved his expectations were off. He wanted her all the time and now was no exception. Unfortunately, they had a case.

The timing to hunt Bigfoot couldn’t be less opportune.

He felt himself get hard as she kissed him again and his hands grabbed her arms to pull her close. This wasn’t the time but the kiss deepened anyway. They should be focusing on catching a killer but she was turning in his arms to be held across his lap as his tongue slipped past her teeth to taste her mouth.

Scully moaned a little as the hand that was holding her hip moved up her torso to cup her breast through the material of her undershirt and bra. Sometimes he barely noticed their size difference. When they were arguing over theories or she was interrogating a suspect, she was ten feet tall. She was strong, smart and capable.

In his arms, she felt small and soft compared to the strict scientist that she seemed towards those around her. Her body was lithe but she was toned and curvaceous.

“Mulder…” she whispered, almost condoning their actions and reminding him of their place. This was a case they were on and there was a killer out there. “We… oh…. _oh_ … are working… oh yes….”

Her words were punctuated by each nip at her skin and he hummed in response. They were working and this wasn’t the best time but his hormones worked on their own timeline and took over common sense.

Mulder felt in awe sometimes that she still let him touch her like this. For a man who had endured so much heartache, her presence in his life was a sign of a higher power blessing his sorry existence in some way.

Thinking of her in those terms only made him desire her more. It was difficult not to get turned on when he thought about all the wondrous things about her.

Scully adjusted herself across his lap and he could feel her backside rub against his erection. She had to have felt it too.

“How does everything between us go from zero to full speed so quickly?” she asked quietly as he kissed her cheek to her jawline. As his mouth reached the tendons on her neck and she tilted her head away to allow him better access, she sighed. “Oh…”

“You make those noises and I can’t really help myself,” he whispered into her hair.

Someone at the other end of the cabin coughed loudly and the sobering thought that they might be heard if anything was taken further suddenly poured cold water metaphorically across their hormones.

Scully wiped the edge of her thumb across her lips and moved off his lap. “We should cool it.”

Mulder nodded in agreement but his erection felt differently. The loud whine of bedsprings in motion echoed into their room and Mulder and Scully gave each other the same look of delighted surprise.

“I guess love is in the air tonight,” Mulder quipped and Scully covered her mouth to not laugh out loud. “Maybe we can use the noise as a cover for leaving?”

"Good thinking,” she agreed and they finished dressing quietly as the creaking continued from an unknown room across the cabin.

Mulder closed the door behind them as a man grunting reverberated down the hall. As they stood on the steps and donned their jackets and hats, he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

“What?” Scully asked as she adjusted her toque over her clipped hair.

Mulder zipped up his coat and pulled out his gloves from his pockets. “I think it’s just interesting that we weren’t the only ones.”

Scully pulled on her own gloves and let out a long breath. The water vapour from her mouth created a small cloud of condensation as it warmed the air as she exhaled. The white snow on the ground and the bright moon above highlighted the beauty of her pink cheeks and rouge lips. She looked at him with her glassy blue eyes and grinned a little.

“I’m not having sex with you in that cabin, Mulder,” she declared.

He smirked. “I wouldn’t want to goad Rod into another commentary, especially if it meant he was going to _time_ my performance.”

Scully chuffed in laughter. “I’ve never had any complaints.”

As they walked down the steps slowly, the quiet of the evening air surrounded them. It occurred to Mulder that out in the woods, you could hear the next camp over or the noise from Vail if you listened hard enough. It was promising to think that anyone approaching by foot or vehicle would be heard from anywhere they decided to do their stakeout.

Mulder had pilfered a pop-up tent from the supply shed earlier that night and set it up across the road where they could observe the surrounding woods and the main entrance.

There was a cluster of dark clouds approaching from beyond the treeline above them. While the clouds would help to prevent the temperatures from dropping to unbearable levels, it could be less than advantageous for seeing much in the dark.

The inside of the cabin was dark and Mulder could see the front room from where they were situated. One table light and the overhead bulb at the oven range were on, illuminating the first floor very poorly. On the second floor, every window was quiet with the shade drawn across.

Mulder used the binoculars to look into the top floor, then the surrounding area. Scully had the camera ready in her hands as she sat in the tent next to him.

It wasn’t helpful during a stakeout to remain too quiet because it could cause boredom to take over, which could lead to falling asleep on the job. Scully was usually guilty of the sleeping part. Mulder had suffered from insomnia for so long that usually stakeout duties were a relief from tossing and turning alone at home.

The problem with being on a stakeout with Scully prior to their relationship progressing past friendship when he knew he wanted to be with her was that he felt distracted by those feelings he wanted to express to her. Now that he had all the answers to questions he had about her body, the problem was being distracted by that knowledge.

Mulder wasn’t a horny teenage boy. He could act like a professional and keep his mind on the case but, to excuse the pun, it was hard when Scully had just been laying across his lap as he squeezed her breast.

“Mulder,” Scully began as she looked through the viewfinder and took a few preliminary pictures.

“Hmm?”

“Why did the killers leave a note?” she asked as she lowered the camera to look at him. “That doesn’t seem to go with their past motive.”

Mulder nodded. “Are you suggesting that we fell into a trap and we’ve been lured out here like lambs to a slaughter?”

She shrugged. “Possibly.”

“Usually this is my kind of conjecture,” he said with a grin. “I’ll do you now.”

“Excuse me?” she asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“I mean, I could play the skeptic and ask you what makes you think that note wasn’t a prank?” he countered.

Scully nodded slowly. “Oh okay… well, if I was going to continue down this path that you like to go on, I would say that by the way Gerald and Kyle reacted to the note, it didn’t seem like it. Their reactions were far too volatile.”

“Then how does this relate at all to your Sasquatch monster?” he asked in the same tone she had used with him so many times before.

They were both smiling as they enjoyed the exercise of playing off of one another in this way.

“Is it possible the writer of the note, the people behind the murders are somehow directing the Sasquatch or Sasquatch-like-monster to kill in some way to ruin the business for Gerald and Kyle?” Scully asked. “A Raven Mocker…some kind of a Sasquatch creature that is being controlled by the perpetrators, the ones who left the note, to get revenge on them?”

“This isn’t a Manly Wade Wellman novel,” Mulder quipped and she scoffed. “Scully, I don’t want to disrupt the flow of this banter with being myself but this is kind of turning me-”

“ _Shhh_!” she stopped him with a hand over his mouth.

“I was jok-”

“There it is again!” she whispered. She climbed out of the tent they had set up and looked intently through the treeline for the sound.

Mulder climbed out and stood next to her. “What?”

There was a rustling in the bushes to the east of the house. The cloud formation moving towards the moon was going to make their visibility extremely low. The glow of the city lights would not be enough to guide them through the woods if anything happened. He was trying not to think in those terms but he swore he wouldn’t let anything else happen to Scully on this trip. After Pfaster and the close encounter from a near-assault, he felt his protectiveness towards her on complete alert.

“What do you see?” Scully asked as he looked through the binoculars.

“Just some small animals moving around,” he noted.

Scully pivoted in her spot to search through the trees behind their tent. She held the camera up and took a few more pictures.

“There!” she declared as she pointed south. “Something is there!”

She grabbed her pack and tugged on Mulder’s arm as she took a few steps around the tent.

“Wait,” he grumbled and leaned down to get his backpack from the tent also. When he stood up, he didn’t see her anymore. “Fuck.”

He grabbed the fold-up tent and stuffed it into the carrying bag. When he searched the trees again, he saw a flash of her red hair in the distance.

“ _Scully_!” he whispered loudly as he folded the carrying straps over his backpack. “Scullaaaay!”

“ _Here_!” her voice called back to him.

Mulder took a few steps towards her voice. She was thirty yards ahead of him and he found her standing in a small clearing with her breath coming out in short pants.

“What the fuck?” he asked. “Why did you just take off like that?”

Scully arched her eyebrow at him as a response. “I thought we were role-playing.”

“You forgot to tell me the safe word,” he muttered.

She nudged him with her elbow and they exchanged a look of impatience between them.

“I heard something in this area,” she insisted.

Mulder guessed they were approximately a ten-minute walk from the main cabin and the compass in his pocket reassured him they couldn’t get too lost if they knew which direction to walk in.

He reached into his pocket and pulled a flashlight from his jacket. Scully did the same and she clicked her light on under her chin.

“Let’s go, Spooky,” she said with a nod of her head in the direction of the sound.

“What did you hear?” he asked as he shined the light beyond where they stood.

During the daylight hours, quiet surroundings would be enough to hint at the presence of a possible larger animal or creature. At night, the forest wasn’t alive with the same sounds. Nocturnal animals in the area included raccoons, coyotes and owls. Those animals hunted other small game but at the moment, there was little to indicate much else in the area except for them.

“Earlier today, when we were at the rest stop, Emma and I heard a strange growling,” Scully explained. “I thought I heard it again.”

“Can you describe it?” he asked as he looked through the treeline with his flashlight for a sign of something. “Was it like a bear?”

“ _No_ ,” she answered quickly and Mulder stopped his search to give her a questioning look. “If it was a bear, I would have said so.”

“Fair point,” he replied.

It wasn’t in the nature of a predator to seek out prey larger than itself. It’s possible, at the sound of their conversations, the animals in the area went quiet as a way of self-preservation.

If they were looking for a pack of animals, separating he and Scully would be ideal to prey on them. Nothing so far had insinuated they were looking for a pack like the Mothmen in Florida or even a family like the Jersey Devil.

The simian hair found at the last crime scene also told them they weren’t looking for any kind of invisible, red-eyed creature that was kidnapping and killing people for encroaching on their space.

The Bigfoot tour might be doing that very thing but it was doubtful that Kyle and Gerald were intent on doing harm to anyone. They might be ignorant and insensitive but they were far from malicious.

“I don’t think this was a bear either,” Mulder declared and they shared a look before they turned their lights back on the treeline to search for anything.

“There!” she whispered.

Mulder followed with her light into the dense growth of trees where she was looking. It was then that he saw it.

White eyes glowed in the distance where a large figure lurked behind the thick trunk of a pine tree. Adrenaline filled his system as his heart began to pound in his chest and he tried to focus on the sounds of the forest.

It was eerily quiet.

“Fuck,” he cursed.

Scully reached behind her and found her weapon from her jacket. She flipped her flashlight in her palm as she steadied her gun on top, across the back of her wrist. She preferred the Harries method whereas Mulder preferred the Chapman with the flashlight held between his thumb and forefinger with the body of the flashlight held firm against the pistol.

“What the hell is that?” Scully asked as the figure in the distance seemed to watch them from its spot.

The eyes in the distance shifted to the left and their flashlights followed the movement. Mulder felt slightly disturbed by the fact that the only illumination their lights caught was the glowing eyes of the figure fifty feet away from them.

“It ain’t no bear,” he commented on the creature in the distance.

The eyes began to move and suddenly were gone. Mulder and Scully chased down the mountain after the figure in the distance. His breath pumped in his lungs as she kept up with his pace nicely. Branches snapped under their feet as they made their way down the hill. A flash of the eyes caught them off the trail and they diverted left. Scully pointed to their right as the figure zig zagged back onto a more worn path and they kept running. The air was biting inside his lungs but he kept going.

They were only getting farther and farther from the main cabin and they were on a trail that Mulder didn’t recognize anymore. They continued to run as they flashed their lights towards the figure but as a curve in their trail took them left, the figure in front of them disappeared.

“Shit!” she cursed as they stopped.

Their torches searched the space in front of them for a figure, a sign or anything to indicate there was more in the quiet woods except for the federal agents. Not a sound or sight was forthcoming.

Mulder panned his light to the left while she searched to their right. Still no sign of the figure they spotted only moments ago.

“Shit!” she cursed again.

Where could it have gone? In Florida, the Mothmen had a network of chambers underground they were able to hide in when they were luring prey away from each other. On their travels up the mountain and through the woods, they had yet to witness anything like that. It wasn’t in the Colorado geography when below their feet was nothing but rock and snow versus a network of chambers where a Mothman might hide.

“Where’d it go?” she asked, mimicking his thoughts.

Mulder shook his head. “I don’t know.”

She flashed her torch around the small break in the dense woods again. “Those eyes didn’t belong to an animal like a bear.”

“Raven Mockers normally appear as old, withered men or women who can turn almost completely invisible except to certain medicine men,” Mulder began to describe what he knew about the folklore. Scully arched her eyebrow at him and he made a face. “I read about them on the plane ride here.”

“I skimmed your notes,” she reminded him.

“So you’ll know that they can take on a fiery shape and cry out like a raven as they hunt their next victim,” Mulder said as he reached into his pocket for his compass.

“I didn’t see any fire,” she said as she put her flashlight back in her pocket. “Do you think this could be a possible evil Bigfoot?”

“Scully,” he whispered.

She scanned the space around them before looking up at Mulder. “How far from the main cabin would you say we are?”

None of the landmarks around them were familiar to him. The clearing surrounding them was nothing like the space they stopped for lunch. The snow was fresh underfoot and the spaces that were bare looked untouched by people.

“I don’t see the trail markers from our hike up. None of this looks familiar and we can see shit even with our flashlights,” he said. “My compass is gone.”

“I don’t want to point out the obvious to a former Indian Guide but don’t we just head back the way we came and we’ll eventually get to the cabin?” Scully asked.

Mulder considered that idea. “That’s possible. We could also somehow divert further off the trail and end up in the middle of nowhere.”

“We are in the middle of nowhere,” she reminded him.

Mulder smirked. “Okay, what do you suggest?”

She shook her head and the silence of the woods filled the space around them again. “From what I remember from childhood forest safety, walking through the forest instead of staying put is the best way to get yourself lost.”

“I have the tent. We can make a fire and stay warm,” he suggested.

She nodded slowly. “So much for catching a killer.”

Mulder pulled the tent straps off his back and looked around for a flat space to set it down. “I’m sure they’ll be fine. We only left the one side door open and none of the previous victims were killed among the group. You and I have a higher chance out here alone than they do together.”

“What makes you say that?” she asked as she set her pack down and watched him set up the tent. It took two steps which included removing it from the case and allowing the pressurized poles to fold out. Scully’s eyebrows rose in appreciation as he stuck the pegs into the ground. “Neat trick.”

“I’m still waiting on that utility belt you promised me for my birthday,” he commented as he stood up. “We should make a fire for warmth if anything else.”

After he and Scully gathered a few logs from around the area that had remained dry, Mulder created a fire pit with rocks and small stones from the area. As he lit a match from the waterproof pack he had in his backpack, Scully held her hands over the fire to await the warmth from the flame.

The cloud formation had given them a warmer ambient temperature than they were anticipating when they decided to stakeout the main cabin. After running through the woods, Mulder wasn’t feeling the cold air as much as he thought he would.

The small clearing that they had set up camp in was relatively flat. He couldn’t see any of the trail markers from their hike up the mountain with the tour group. If he had to guess which way the trail was, he wouldn’t know which direction to choose. Out in the woods, the night was darker than the city and Mulder felt the encompassing solitude of the forest as they built their fire and prepped their camp for the night.

The fire filled the space with some heat and he grinned at her. “Better than gunpowder.”

“I had no matches….” She grinned at him a little. “I actually found a belt at that tinker shop on M Street.”

Mulder put his hands on his hips. “Where is it?”

“I was waiting for Valentine’s Day,” she said.

“ _Scully_ ,” he breathed. “You’re a romantic.”

She shrugged him off but Mulder pulled her to him anyway. He kissed her cheek and she began to smile in the way that gave him a green light.

“You didn’t bring a sleeping bag with you did you?” she asked him as he kissed towards the collar of her jacket.

Mulder nodded. “It’s only big enough for sleeping.”

“Drat.”

Her mouth opened to his again and he gripped her hips as her hands held onto his jacket. Her tongue was soft and she tasted sweet to his lips. It only took a few kisses for things to become fevered between them. Her tongue sliding against his, soft moans coming from the back of her throat while she clutched the material of his jacket tightly. These were not preliminary kisses of happy thoughts but the kind of kisses that lead to sex. These were the kisses she used when she needed him more than she needed to finish working on her JAMA article or to answer the phone when it rang. Scully could compartmentalize so much in her life but when her mind was focused on the pleasures of the flesh, she wouldn’t be deterred.

Scully pushed her pelvis against his and he took the hint to walk her carefully towards a tree behind her. The rational side of Mulder was telling him to control his hormones, tuck it back in his boxers and try to survive this night out in the woods. The part of his brain that wanted to taste and touch her everywhere was taking over and he was gladly letting it.

The fingers on his gloved hands weren’t dexterous enough to do what he wanted and Scully must have had the same train of thought because she was pulling hers off and tucking them in her pockets. Mulder kissed her thoroughly and felt encouraged that she wasn’t stopping the progression of this possible tryst in the woods.

It had crossed his mind a time or two on different cases but he never once thought it would actually happen.

The air suddenly felt hot and Mulder unzipped his down jacket. Scully opened her own and her adept fingers slid underneath the hem of Mulder’s shirt to touch his skin. She skimmed along the waist of his pants until she reached the button and fly.

Her tongue paused a moment as her hands waited for the go ahead. Mulder moaned into her mouth and he felt himself get harder as she released the fastening of his pants and reached inside to touch his rigid cock.

He had felt an aching for her all day. Kissing her was supposed to be for cover but it had only turned him on just enough to make him need her now more than before.

Scully was holding his flesh with one hand while she pulled his to touch her breasts through her clothing. She whimpered as he palmed her flesh and when his hands moved under her shirt to feel her skin, she broke the kiss to moan out loud.

“We shouldn’t be doing this out here,” she whispered as the hand stroked him. “We… oh God, Mulder, we’re in the middle of nowhere.”

Mulder opened his eyes to see her looking wanton and reckless. She was licking his saliva off her lips as she continued to stroke up and down.

“If you want to stop doing this, then you have to stop touching my dick,” he managed and she chuffed a laugh. “ _Well_...”

Rather than stopping her movements, she gripped him a little tighter and glanced around the empty woods. Maybe if this was the middle of the day, he wouldn’t be thinking about turning her around, pushing himself between her ass cheeks and fucking her until they both came loudly. Maybe if they hadn’t almost seen Bigfoot, he might not be as brazen and forward.

Instead, he felt himself wanting her in a makeshift camp they had set up for the night. Or maybe he wanted her outside against that tree. He didn’t care. He wanted her and she was giving him all the signals that told him she wanted him too.

Scully squeezed on his member. “I don’t think that tent is going to offer a lot of room for much…”

“Activity?” he supplied.

Scully gave another encouraging squeeze and he groaned. “I just want to make sure we both have an equally fun time.”

Whatever had gotten into him had now gotten into her and he didn’t mind it. He liked when Scully’s rebellious streak opened up from under her buttoned down suits and perfectly pressed skirts. It was a juxtaposition of her character to see the wild side of her that lay ready for something more untoward and improper that her strict sensibilities would allow. It wasn’t the sexiest part of her but he liked feeling like he was one of few men who were privy to that.

Not that Scully’s romantic history, however small or large, was any care to Mulder. He just knew that the side of her he saw was kept for him in scenarios he somehow inspired. Mulder was still working that out.

“It took me seven years to get you to fuck me in the woods,” she whispered as she let go of his shaft and unzipped her jacket.

Mulder couldn’t help but laugh as he pulled his trousers down and watched her turn around to present her backside to him. “Really?”

She was already removing her pants and pulling her layers down as she looked at him over her shoulder like she had so many years before. Except instead of asking him to inspect her back, she was looking at him with desire. He urgently wanted to be inside of her.

Mulder took himself in hand to line his cock with her entrance. His other hand took the flesh of her creamy white hips into his grip as he prepared to enter her.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” she said as she unzipped her jacket and ran one hand under her shirt, up her belly.

It thrilled him when she touched herself during sex. He liked to watch her almost as much as he liked to be the one doing the touching. It was a paradox of sorts. He wanted to witness all the things she did to herself before he was allowed to cross the line as a lover.

He took the hint and knew he needed to ensure her release first. That was usually how it went for them. For men, the orgasm was usually once and final, no matter how satisfying. For women, orgasms could be multiple, longer and more intense. It seemed only fair for all the atrocities that women endured at the hands of society that they should have all the pleasures that life gave.

Her hips, thighs and sex were exposed while her top remained covered from the cool air. Her jacket and shirt stayed around her waist because even with the fire going, this wasn’t enough to keep them warm if they were totally nude. This wasn’t a time to study and examine all the ways she would orgasm under his or her touch. This was their attempt to find release out in a strange and odd circumstance.

If he was being honest, it wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last time he found himself aroused next to Scully on a case in the middle of the night while their priority should be to stay alive. Most of the time, an erection wasn’t possible with his adrenaline pumping in his veins and danger imminent. It wasn’t possible to feel scared and aroused at the same time when you might get eaten by a Mothmen or pulled into deep waters by Big Blue.

Tonight was something entirely different. The space was relatively safe and they had the high of chasing something that could have been a monster.

Mulder kissed the skin on her neck that was exposed and his hand slipped down the smooth skin on her abdomen, between her legs. She was so wet and the moment the pad of his finger made contact with her clit, she jerked and moaned. He circled her bundle of nerves and she moaned again.

“How does that feel?” he asked as he pressed his mouth to her cheek.

“ _Oh_ …” she started. “Jesus…”

Mulder quickened his movements with his finger and moved his other hand up her stomach to squeeze her breast. He felt her nipple harden through her bra and she whimpered.

“Oh, Mulder!” she gasped as his fingers pinched her nipple while he continued to move his middle finger in quick circles around her clit. “Fuck me, that’s _good_.”

He was aching to be inside her. Every moan, every whimper and each time she whispered his name made his cock throb. He felt impossibly hard and he pushed his cock against her ass cheeks.

The pressure of his flesh against hers in a place he had often coveted made him only heighten his desire.

“Scully I need to be inside of you,” he groaned as he pushed himself against her folds. He could feel her desire coating his throbbing head and with only a slight push, he could get inside but he needed her to say it was okay. He had to hear her tell him to fuck her in that moment after she asked him to slow down. “Say it’s okay.”

“Fuck me, Mulder,” she whispered in a deep, breathy tone he had only heard up to this point in bedrooms, motel rooms and once in their basement office. “I need you.”

He adjusted his hips and found himself pushing inside her as she let out a long and low moan. She was so tight around him, her walls were throbbing and he could feel her trembling in his arms.

“Are you cold?” he asked as he felt her walls adjust around his hard shaft.

Scully shook her head and looked at him over her shoulder. Their mouths met for a kiss in the middle and Mulder tried to move the pad of his finger around her clit as her tongue touched his but it was too much for him. He needed to get her to come. He wanted to feel her quake around him and listen to her moans as she broke apart from pleasure.

He began a slow steady pace with his hips. He liked the way she felt inside as she shuddered with pleasure. Mulder kept his finger on her clit as he pumped inside of her and she gripped the bark of the tree as his hips slapped against her ass with each thrust. He could hear himself grunting and the wet sounds of their sex sliding against each other. Scully’s breath was coming out in hitched pants. She was getting tighter with every circle of his finger and if he just kept this up, he could make her come.

The fire they had started continued to warm the space around them but it wouldn’t be enough to get her naked in that forest and see her under the glow of moonlight with the snow around them. He wanted so desperately to taste all of her and kiss her softness.

He could settle for pushing against her alabaster skin where she was exposed and fucking her against that tree. He needed to see her laid out underneath him and with a glow of pink to her skin when they got back to their cabin. Maybe he would try to have her in the living room with the fire going in front of them and a bottle of wine open and his mouth between her thighs.

He had to stop that line of thought because that was going to make him come too.

“Scully,” Mulder whispered as he pulled and pushed up hard. He punctuated his question with a thrust into her. “Are you close?”

She put her hand over Mulder’s and began to move her finger across her sex. He took the hint and gripped her hips with both hands as she tried to bring herself to ecstasy.

He felt her twitch and her walls squeezed his cock in a sign she was getting close. “Oh god, I can feel you, Scully.”

“Yes,” she cried desperately and he held her hips so she could stand as she began to lose herself in the moment. “Oh! _Fuck_!”

If there was a large Sasquatch wandering the woods at this very moment, their location would be a dead giveaway to such beasts of the deep forest. Hopefully, anything on the prowl tonight wouldn’t be looking to interrupt two lovers in a tryst.

The only thing staving off Mulder’s own orgasm was the idea that there could be danger. Maybe once she came, he could get her inside the tent and strip her down to see the places currently covered by down feathered jackets and flannel cloth.

“Oh!” she cried out.

A small squeal escaped her lips and she shuddered and squeezed around him. He felt his cock tremble inside her and he began to pump harder, making Scully cry out again.

Suddenly she was gripping his fingers tightly and he took the hint to stop. He knew after something intense like that her body would need a small recovery period and he was happy to give her that.

Mulder stayed still inside of her with his own desire reminding them with involuntary twitches of his own need for release.

Scully turned her face to look at Mulder and he kissed her temple.

“Ready for the tent?” he asked her.

She nodded and looked down at her pants and boots. “This is going to be a pain to disrobe.”

Mulder pulled out from her and tucked himself back into his long johns while Scully fastened her pants. She looked around the space they had set up and then down to his pack.

“That sleeping bag I asked about earlier?” she mentioned.

“Yes, I did actually bring a small sleeping bag meant for these cold temperatures that would fit two possibly naked people,” he quipped as he opened his bag and rolled out the sleeping sack into the tent. "It's only big enough for sleeping."

“And you called me a romantic,” she said as she sat down on the edge of the tent and removed her boots. “The fire should be okay to keep going for the night.”

“Indian Guides taught me to build an adequate wall around the space to ensure we don’t start a forest fire,” he assured her.

“Good enough for me,” she scoffed.

Mulder sat down next to her and took off his own. They brought their belongings inside the tent and he noticed an immediate change in the ambient temperature.

“This thing gets pretty warm for a fold out,” he noted as he removed his hat and jacket.

Scully nodded and removed her outer layers as well. “It’s really warm. If we’re going to be out here all night, it’s lucky we have this.”

“It was supposed to be our lookout for trying to catch Bigfoot,” Mulder reminded her disappointedly. “Or someone framing Bigfoot for their sinister crimes.”

Scully pulled off her shirt and laid down on the bed with their clothing around them. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to see him tonight.”

“I think those white eyes glowing at us in the distance could have very well been something,” Mulder replied as he sat down to remove his pants and shirt. “We’re trying to conserve body heat, Scully. You’re not naked.”

Scully sat up and removed her bra and underwear before putting her hands on her hips pointedly. “There?”

“It’s amazing that you can try to look authoritative but also come off as adorable when I can lick your nipples from where I’m sitting,” Mulder said with a grin as he leaned down to kiss her breasts. “I mean, I love that you try to be the boss all the time-”

“Shut up,” she whispered as she wrapped her hand around his shaft.

Mulder smiled as she pulled him closer to her mouth and they aligned their bodies on the sleeping bag. He gripped her hip as they lay on their sides and she gave him a grin before pushing Mulder on his back to mount him.

She moved her sex above his and slid down on his cock with a swiftness that made him shout her name. “Scully!”

She adjusted her bottom and pulled her toque off her head as she pulled her hips up and sunk back down on him. She pushed her hands towards her breasts and watched him as she rode him.

“I like it like this too…” she said breathily.

If fate was against him, he might have come then but today was not that day for his life to prove itself to continually be a joke.

The way she moved on him was poetic. He had experienced this kind of pleasure under her control many times but it never ceased to amaze him. Her skin was beginning to turn pink in all the places she normally was smooth and creamy white. From her chest, across her breasts and down her belly to where her cunt was wrapped around his dick. As his hands moved from her hips, he saw the redness from his grip.

If he could remember to be more gentle with her, he wished he could but his hormones and desires always got the better of him. Deep down, part of him liked to see the marks on her perfect skin after they had made love. To see her breasts red from his beard or the inside of her thighs pink from his mouth thrilled him.

As her ass came down on his lap, she pushed down and he moved his hips up. They began a rhythm to work together and he watched her eyes as she continued to move above him. She was tight after her orgasm but this angle, with nothing in between them, was more preferable.

Mulder palmed her breasts as she pushed down on his shaft. He put one hand on her ass as she maneuvered up and down.

“God, you’re so sexy Scully,” he said as he looked at the curves of her waist and up to her breasts. “You feel so _good_.”

“You… oh god…” she started with a whimper. “Mulder….”

“Can you come again?” he asked as she sped up.

Scully shook her head. “No…. You… oh you should…”

That wasn’t good enough for him. He had to get her to find a release again. He wanted to give her everything but all he had was himself. If she thought he was enough, he had to continue to try to prove it.

He pulled on her hips and flipped her directly underneath him. If he had miscalculated it at all, they could have turned the tent on its side but somehow he made it work.

“Touch yourself,” he urged her as he began pumping his hips. “Touch yourself Scully, I want you to make me come. You get so tight, I need you to come.”

She put her middle finger into his mouth and he wrapped his tongue around the pad before she took her hand to her sex. He leaned on his elbow and brought her finger to his mouth again.

“I love the way you taste,” he whispered as he started pushing in and out of her. "I love the way you feel. I love - I love you."

Scully looked up at him and whimpered. “I love you.”

He waited for her to move her finger across her clit a few times before he started thrusting again. Each time he pushed into her, he could feel her growing tighter. It felt like she was massaging his dick with her pussy. This was what he wanted when he looked at her with desire. He needed more of her like this.

“Come on,” he urged her as he pumped against her. “I want to feel you suck the cum out of my cock.”

Her eyes widened at his words and he felt her clamp down around him. Her sex was vibrating with her orgasm as her body flushed all over and she cried out a long moan.

“Fuck!” she squealed and his balls tightened as he was fucking her harder than he had before. “Ah! Mulder!”

He couldn’t stop or pull back. He had to keep moving against her and he felt frantic as his orgasm washed over him and spread through his body. It was absolute pleasure as much as it was agony.

“ _Scullaaay_ ,” he bellowed and pushed one final time as he emptied inside of her.

He was panting and he could feel sweat on his back. It had gotten far too warm in there and he had nothing to clean her up with.

“Mulder,” she started weakly.

He nodded and pulled his hand down his beard and across his mouth. “Sorry… just give me a second.”

“I was going to say…” she tried to begin again. “If you hand me my pants, I have some baby wipes in the side pocket.”

“Oh,” he realized and pulled the pair of pants over towards her. They tried to remain still as she pulled tissues and the baby wipes from her side pocket. “You’re smart.”

“I didn’t bring them out here because I thought we’d get carried away…” she said as she pulled two tissues out for him and then a few more for herself. “Okay… you can…”

He nodded and looked down as he removed his member from her. He cleaned himself off and took the soiled tissues from her before putting them in a small plastic bag he had packed for collecting evidence.

Scully made a face as she looked around and found Mulder’s shirt. “I’m going to borrow this for a second.”

“You want me to stand guard while you pee?” he offered.

She shook her head as she put on her boots and picked up her gun from the pile of clothing. “I’ll be fine.”

He sat inside the tent, trying not to listen too intently as he waited for Scully to come back. In a quick few moments, she returned with a small smile and he gave her a questioning look.

“Everything okay out there?” he asked.

“Yes,” she replied as she tucked her chin down. She found her underwear and pulled them on but to Mulder’s delight, handed him back his shirt. “Are we really sleeping out here for the night?”

The air in the tent was warm and the ground beneath their tent was soft. It was more comfortable than some of the beds they had slept in over the years.

“I thought we could wake up and hike down to the nearest highway, then get ourselves a ride back up to the cabin to collect the rest of our things,” Mulder suggested as they laid down in the bag. “Does that work for you?”

“What’s our cover story?” she asked him as she moved into the place on his chest where her ear would be in line with his heart.

“I’ll tell them I wanted to see Bigfoot for myself,” Mulder said simply. “How does that sound?”

There was heavy breathing coming from the small frame next to him in the bed.

“Scully?”

He’d have to wait until morning to hear if his plan was okay with her or not. For now, they would have to choose sleep.

 


	12. The Raven Mocker

The sound of the forest was what woke them first. As she opened her eyes in the warm cocoon of the tent, she ran her hand along Mulder’s arm that was weighing heavily across her abdomen. There was pressure in her belly that she needed to use the bathroom and her back ached from sleeping on the forest ground overnight. Granted, they had slept on some soft underbrush of pine needles and less than soft snow but this was no pillow top king-sized mattress from their lush condo inside Vail.

With the bright sun shining through the trees, she felt nature giving her a wake-up call. She carefully pushed Mulder’s arm off her body and dressed as he slept soundly. When she exited into the cool morning air, the forest was alive with sound. Small creatures talking to each other, song sparrows and woodpeckers searching for food while a herd of elk ran in the distance. The time of year ensured bears, more than not, would still be hibernating. There was some comfort in that.

As she reentered the tent, Mulder was drinking from the canteen and looking mildly disoriented.

“Nice look,” he commented as he pushed a hand across his bearded cheek.

Scully had on her boots and his T-shirt to use the bathroom. She hadn’t seen the point in dressing for the hike yet. “I didn’t want to make too much noise and wake you up by getting dressed.”

Mulder threw back the edge of the sleeping bag and got up to get dressed as well. “I’ve got some protein bars in my bag if you’re hungry.”

“I don’t suppose you packed my favourite Starbucks drink in your bag, did you?” she asked as she removed the boots and Mulder’s shirt to change into her own clothing.

“You know, I was going to but the barista doesn’t fit in _this_ bag,” Mulder joked.

After donning fresh panties and her bra, she pulled a tank top and new shirt on before dressing in her pants. “This resort is _terrible_.”

Mulder grinned at her as he reached into his bag. “At least we have basic hygiene taken care of.”

Mulder handed Scully a travel-sized toothbrush and toothpaste tube.

“Bless you,” she replied.

“[Way up in the north woods an’ deep in the dark](http://www.northamericanbigfoot.com/2011/04/bigfoot-song-by-buddy-knox.html),” Mulder began to croon.

“Stop, please I _beg_ of you,” Scully muttered.

It was one thing to hear that song with caffeine in her system but after sleeping in that tent in the woods, she needed coffee and a shower before she could tolerate Mulder’s new favourite tune.

“You didn’t sing it to me last night, as promised,” he pointed out to her.

“I had sex with you out in the woods after possibly seeing what could be a Sasquatch-like creature,” Scully retorted. “Was that not enough?”

Mulder looked down at his toothbrush and then to her, quite seriously. She was hoping he would acknowledge that and move on but instead, he burst out into song.

“ _Pines that blacken the mountains of the Cascade Range_!”

She put her toothbrush in her mouth and shook her head at him. This was going to be a very long day.

It took only minutes for them to pack up their camp, brush their teeth and ensure they were leaving the space as they found it. She could see that Mulder was trying to get a feel for their location and listen for any clues.

“I feel like if we walk down the mountain, we’ll eventually get to a service road,” Mulder announced as he put their wet toothbrushes back in the plastic bag and into his bag. “Is that at all logical to you?”

“You were the Indian Guide,” she retorted as they began to walk down the slow slope of the mountain.

“Well, Indian Guide says to get those little legs moving,” he replied as he adjusted his toque. “I recognize that’s a racist term but the 1970s weren’t consumed with being PC.”

“Didn’t the Indian Guide’s rebrand to the Native American Survivalist Group?” Scully asked as she followed him. As they moved along the brush, she could see a well-worn trail in the distance. “There. We can take it down to the road.”

“Native American Survivalist Group wasn’t entirely a waste of my weekends,” Mulder commented. “Were you in Girl Scouts or Brownies?”

Scully shook her head. “If it wasn’t sponsored by the church or organized by the women’s association, we weren’t doing it.”

Mulder looked at her quizzically. “Why?”

“Because it was _free_ ,” she replied with a breath. “We didn’t have property on Martha’s Vineyard we ‘summered’ at or a maid. We had each other.”

“That sounds nice,” Mulder noted as they were within closing distance of the trail.

“It was,” she affirmed.

Mulder turned to her on the path and smiled down at her. The flannel shirt peeking out under his coat was the same green as his eyes. The sun shining through the trees and the quiet sounds of the forest was idyllic. If it wasn’t for the creature killing people in the woods, this might be a great vacation spot.

“I practically lived at my best friend’s house after Samantha was gone,” Mulder said as he ran his gloved hands up her arms over her coat. “Quinn was one of five kids. It was always noisy at his house but in a good way. The profiler in me would connect the dots to the why I like to have a television on to fill the void of silence anywhere I go.”

“I don’t mind that you like it noisy,” she confessed. “I used to think I would have a noisy home one day too.”

Mulder kissed her forehead under the edge of her toque and she saw a flicker of sadness in his eyes. “I promise, I’ll try to find a way to give you a noisy house.”

Scully clenched her chin and sniffed. “Well, let’s figure out a way to stop these murders first and then get to the impossible task of one day having kids with a barren woman.”

Mulder gave her a knowing look. “We’re in the woods, hunting a Sasquatch-like creature that you yourself wanted to try to find. _Nothing_ is impossible.”

She nodded slowly. “I concede that.”

He dropped his head back and sighed. “ _Scully_.”

She stepped back from him and glanced down the trail. “We should get going if we want to somehow get back to the tour group.”

“You don’t want to have a round two out here?” he offered with a grin. Scully slapped his chest with the back of her hand and he laughed. “It was worth a shot.”

“Get me back in the condo and you can have it any way you like,” she bargained.

Mulder’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

Scully contemplated all the ways he might try to push the limits on that but she agreed anyway. “Sure. Hoping we get back there tonight.”

Mulder looked off to the side as he contemplated that. “Then I guess we better get moving.”

She picked up her backpack from the ground and adjusted the straps over her shoulders. “Which direction?”

Mulder pointed down the hill. “I think the trail is that way.”

“What do you think we saw in the woods last night?” she asked as they began walking.

“Are you asking if I think it was the murderer or the same thing I saw in the village the other night?” he clarified and she nodded. “Well, I’m not ruling out either at this point but I don’t know a lot of glowing eyes being reported by witnesses who sighted Bigfoot in the past. That’s more along the lines of that Raven Mocker you mentioned.”

“I’m hoping it was a curious raccoon,” she muttered and he scoffed.

They continued down the path until they reached the road. As they tried to decipher which way to travel, an SUV for the Eagle County Sheriff’s department stopped in front of them.

“That’s _fortuitous_ timing,” Mulder noted.

The passenger side window buzzed as it came down and Deputy Greene leaned across the car. “How in the hell did you folks end up out here?”

"Deputy Greene," Scully greeted with forced cheerfulness before she glanced up at Mulder. “We tried to find the creature last night and I’m ashamed to say, we got a little lost.”

“You folks camped out overnight in this cold?” Greene asked as he opened the passenger door for them to climb in. “Are you all right?”

Scully climbed in the front seat while Mulder took the back. They buckled up and shared a look in the rearview mirror.

“We saw some things last night while we were lost out in the woods,” Mulder told him. “We need to get back to the cabin and make sure everyone is all right.”

Greene put the car in drive. “Say no more.”

 

***** *** *****

 

The air was still when Greene parked his truck outside the cabin. Scully and Mulder stepped out and she looked at him sharply. Mulder nodded in understanding and she knew that he was on the same page. The forest was too quiet. The noises they had heard the night before and that morning were gone. Whatever had just been there had scared the creatures into a silence.

Different mammals emitted an alarm signal or anti-predator adaptation to warn other creatures in response to danger. Primates and birds both have elaborate alarm calls to warn of approaching predators. Nothing could be more unsettling than the silence around them and the sound of their footsteps on the gravel echoing into the forest as they approached the main doors to the cabin.

In nature, quiet surroundings also meant that creatures had gone into hiding to avoid being attacked or eaten. Greene took the lead as they slowly approached the Bigfoot Adventure Tours cabin, keeping their eyes peeled for anything that could be a predator.

“Holy _shit_ ,” Greene said as he stopped in his tracks.

Scully saw it then too and put the back of her hand across her mouth. “Oh my god.”

Blood splattered across the steps of the BAT House looked like it was from a violent attack. A pool of the dark liquid was collecting by the door and whoever had been hurt didn’t make it out of there without some serious injuries. The scene was macabre and grim. Nothing about what happened here was gentle. Scully didn’t see footprints of an animal or a human however at this point, all she could see was violence.

“Who… what do you think happened here?” Greene asked them. “Is this Bigfoot? Did he somehow get here while you two were out uh, _camping_?”

“Hold up,” Mulder stopped him as he took a step towards Greene. “We didn’t set out on some romantic adventure. We were trying to see this thing for ourselves. We chased it into the woods and got lost.”

“And now someone else might be dead!” Greene yelled.

Mulder shook his head. “We don’t have time for this. We need to get into the cabin and see if anyone is hurt in there.”

Scully checked her gun at her back and she ran to the side of the cabin where the stairs led up to the second floor with Mulder close behind her. Greene was in his car, ready to call in the scene for a unit to come up and investigate. She held her breath as she reached the top of the stairs and Mulder put one hand on her shoulder.

“ _What_?” she mouthed.

He pulled her back on the landing and stepped in front of her, putting a finger to his lips. He removed his gun from his shoulder holster inside his jacket and turned the knob on the door quietly.

The door swung open halfway and they listened carefully for the sound of anyone or anything inside. An animal, a wounded person or the creature that attacked outside.

Something was off. Where had everyone gone? It was too early for them to pack up and leave but the rooms were empty. Even Mulder and Scully’s packs had been taken from the room they were assigned to.

Mulder took the lead down the right side of the corridor as they used their tactical training towards the first door. Scully held her gun at the ready as Mulder quickly inspected in the first room, looking back with a shake of his head. They continued to check every room and were coming down the stairs when Greene entered through the front door.

“Bristol and Martinez are coming out here to check out the scene,” Greene began. “I wanted to call them first to collect any evidence or see if this could be related.”

“What does it look like to you out there?” Mulder prompted him as he re-holstered his gun and put his hands on his hips. Greene shook his head and Mulder breathed heavily through his nose. “Does it look like the scenes in the woods without the bodies?”

“We don’t have much for a crime scene unit in the department to help with this kind of thing,” Greene replied, ignoring Mulder’s question. “I have one guy I can call but he’s not on shift yet.”

Scully looked around the cabin. Everything had been cleaned and packed up from the night before. There was barely any evidence of their group being there.

“What are you thinking, Scully?” Mulder asked her quietly.

She shook her head in confusion. “The blood pooling in the front doorway suggests that it happened after the group packed up and left. There are no footsteps leading through the blood and out onto the path but it could be argued the attack happened as they were leaving…”

Mulder nodded in agreement. “We need to try to meet up with the group. Find out what happened.”

“What’s the cover story?” Greene asked.

“We went out into the woods to look for Bigfoot ourselves, got caught up in a romantic interlude and spent the night camped out,” Mulder summarized. “It’s as close to the truth and that’s the easiest cover to go with.”

“Why did you bring a tent?” Greene pushed and Mulder gave him a look. “They’re going to ask.”

“ _No one_ is going to ask,” Mulder said. “The second I mention that we were doing-”

“ _Okay_ ,” Scully cut him off. “Agent Mulder has a point. He’s laid the groundwork on this trip to be an affectionate husband. No one will question why we had a tent.”

Greene looked from Scully to Mulder. “ _Really_.”

“I’ve done this job before,” Mulder said flatly. “I’ve been with the FBI since the mid-80s. I’m a profiler. This isn’t my first case working with Agent Scully undercover posing as a married couple which is another reason A.D. Skinner assigned us to this case. Maybe _instead_ of being up my ass about how I’m investigating this case, you could be helping us.”

“Mulder-” Scully tried to interject.

“I’m _here_ , aren’t I?” Greene pointed out.

“You don’t need to worry about what the other people will think about us being away for the night,” Mulder continued with his hands on his hips. “You need to worry about why there was blood in the front walk and why no one is here right now.”

“I _am_ concerned about that-” the deputy assured Mulder.

“Are you?” Mulder cut him off.

“Guys,” Scully interrupted as she walked between their standoff with her hands up. “That’s _enough_. We need to get our things, take some evidence from out front and get back to town.”

“I’ve got an evidence collecting kit with me,” Greene offered. "It's basic but it's something."

Mulder and Greene stood opposite one another for longer than a beat before Greene left the cabin to retrieve the kit. Scully called their FBI contacts in town, Agents Bristol and Martinez, to bring a crime scene unit team but in the meantime, they wanted their own evidence for their X-File.

Pulling a pair of latex gloves from her backpack, Scully donned them and went upstairs to look through the bedrooms with Mulder following close behind her.

“Mulder, look at this,” Scully called as she stood inside Kyle and Gerald’s room.

Mulder was standing in the hallway and approached her curiously. “What’s going on?”

“The wood stove is still hot,” Scully said as she held her hand over the cast iron wood stove. She found a tea towel on the dresser top and picked up the kettle with the towel wrapped around the handle. “This is full like it was filled this morning.”

“Did you find any more threatening notes?” Mulder asked as he began to search their room.

“No,” she sighed. “I didn’t find any signs of a struggle in any of the rooms. It was clear they left in a rush, half of the beds weren’t made.”

Mulder pulled back the sheets on one of the beds and lifted the mattress up to look underneath. Scully searched the dresser drawers but found nothing of concern.

“I think we should look upstairs,” Mulder suggested. “Maybe the observation room has a notebook or something.”

Scully gave him a warning look. “Keep those hands to yourself.”

He started to laugh but stopped himself. “No problem. I can behave.”

Their search through the top floor had little to no evidence that Bigfoot Adventure Tours had any knowledge about the attacks. There were maps of trails and photographs of other ‘shelters’ that Scully automatically called out as fakes. As they came downstairs, Greene was standing in the living room, studying the map on the wall.

“These _bastards_ marked off the murder sites,” Greene noted.

“They told us these spots were unsafe,” Scully told him.

“What are these other markings?” he asked.

“Places they’ve seen shelters and trails they have declared ‘Bigfoot’ sightings,” Scully told him. “What we did see out there didn’t appear to be authentic.”

“I can’t believe my cousin died because of these _idiots_ ,” he mused with a shake of his head. “They shouldn’t be in business.”

“We’re going to get to the bottom of this,” Scully assured Greene.

The deputy looked down at Scully intently. “I really hope you do. I don’t know if I can stay here knowing the police department and the city is allowing this to take place. I can’t…”

The deputy’s shoulder radio buzzed just then and he gave Scully an apologetic look to leave her to answer it. Mulder came up to the map again and nodded back to Greene.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“If we don’t catch this killer Mulder, I don’t think Greene will be able to let it go,” she said quietly.

“Then I guess we better find out what’s going on,” he replied in a similar hushed tone.

In just over an hour, Bristol and Martinez arrived at the cabin with a team. Scully was upstairs checking the bathroom when Mulder entered.

“Would be nice to grab a shower before we start the day,” he commented as he walked towards her. "Bristol and Martinez have a proper crime scene unit with them. They must have brough them from Denver."

“I was just contemplating if it would contaminate anything by bird bathing it in the sink,” she commented as he looked around the bathroom. That caught Mulder’s attention and he gave her an interested look “Obviously, I won’t.”

“ _Oh_ ,” he replied disappointedly.

“Maybe they’ll give us a chance this morning when we get back to town,” she commented.

Mulder took a step towards her and waggled his eyebrows. “Can it be a shower for two?”

Scully opened her mouth to reply but Agent Bristol entered the bathroom with his wool jacket billowing as he walked. He was a tall and powerful man with a presence that was almost intimidating. Scully could see how he was an effective agent on the scene.

“There you are,” Bristol commented and gave her a once-over. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” she assured him. “We were hoping we could get back into town.”

Bristol put his hands on his hips to open his suit jacket and nodded at them. “Of course. Rick is just coordinating the group downstairs.”

“Is there anything you need from us right now?” Mulder asked.

“No, if you and Dana need a few hours, we can coordinate with you then,” Bristol said and she glanced over to Mulder to see if he would flinch again at the use of her first name.

She could tell he didn’t particularly appreciate that she was calling Bristol by his given name either but not everyone in law enforcement had the same hangups like Mulder did.

“I don’t think we need to worry about your cover being blown at the moment but we can always call you in as witnesses to anything. We’ll be calling in the tour group as well to the precinct. It will be helpful if you two are there to keep your cover intact,” Bristol continued.

“Do you think the sheriff’s department will cooperate now?” Scully asked them.

Bristol shrugged. “It’s hard to say but I don’t think they have a choice now. There’s human blood outside on the front stoop and no sign of animal tracks leaving the scene. They can’t call it folklore or sweep it under the rug this time. Our investigation will go forward whether they like it or not.”

Martinez entered the bathroom and looked between the agents. “Tim wants to stay behind and write his own report. I don’t know.”

“You want to stay with him and our guys? I’ll get them back into town?” Bristol asked his partner and Martinez nodded. “Okay. You guys have all your gear?”

“Yeah, we’re ready to go,” Mulder said and looked down at her. “Dana?”

Scully narrowed her eyes at him. “I just want a cup of coffee and a shower.”

Mulder nodded. ”You’re the boss.”

Bristol reached into his outside coat. “I’ll drive.”

 

***** *** *****

 

As they made it down the mountain and back into town, Bristol pointed to a shopping centre that Scully had yet to frequent.

“You want me to stop for an overpriced coffee?” he offered.  
  
“From _where_?” Mulder asked as he looked around the courtyard where they pulled up from East Meadow Drive.

“There’s a place just in there,” Bristol told them as he parked the car and pointed towards a small hanging sign near a set of stairs. “Great coffee. I thought it fit with the case.”

“ _Yeti’s Grind_?” Mulder commented as he unbuckled his seatbelt. He leaned between Bristol and Scully’s seats to look out the windshield. “Seriously?”

“Tim told us that this town loves its folklore,” Bristol said, referring to Deputy Greene. He turned to Mulder in his seat and waved his hand in front of him. “I thought you’d appreciate it.”

“Yeah well that folklore may or may not be responsible for the death of twelve people,” Mulder retorted and he turned his face to Scully. “You want to come in or wait here?”

“I trust you to get my coffee,” she told him. “I wouldn’t mind staying back and calling in to Skinner to give him an update.”

Mulder snapped his finger and pointed at her. “Deal.”

Bristol pulled his hand from the keys the ignition. “I’ll leave the car running.”

“You could just crack a window,” Scully retorted. “That’s what Mulder does when he leaves me waiting.”

“I did that _one_ time,” Mulder commented and they shared a look. “ _Twice_.”

Scully glanced over to Bristol and held up three fingers. “He’s much nicer to me now.”

“I’ll bet,” Bristol snorted and he and Mulder exited the vehicle. “You’re not worried about blowing your cover by being seen with me?”

“I’m a project manager at a think tank who was just lost out in the woods for the night from my tour group and you found my wife and I wandering on the road,” Mulder said. “You’re just doing your FBI duty to ensure we have some caffeine in our systems. I would say there’s nothing suspicious about it.”  
  
At this point, Bristol wasn't going to keep arguing. There were a hundred reasons they could have been seen together. The door closed and Mulder gave her a thumbs up as they started to walk towards the small coffee shop. Scully reached into her backpack at her feet and found her cell phone.

Of course, the battery was dead.

“ _Great_ ,” she muttered.

In what was possibly an intrusion into Bristol’s privacy, she opened the glove compartment in front of her and found a phone charger that connected to the car’s lighter. As she waited for her phone to turn on so she could call back to D.C., Scully looked around the courtyard beyond the hood of the car.

The area was full of tourists and locals. The rink in the centre of the courtyard was busy with patrons enjoying the crisp, late morning air. The entire city was was idyllic and beautiful. If the Eagle County Sheriff’s Department wasn’t actively working to cover up the twelve murders that took place in the recent months, this would be a place Scully would want to travel for a vacation with Mulder.

She stopped herself for a brief moment as she thought about what that implied for them and how she saw their future. She looked down at the shiny ring on her finger that she was wearing for their case as an undercover married couple and the flashy red nail polish that she had picked out at the spa earlier that week. Lisa, the esthetician, had been engaged for a few years and they had yet to set a date. There were many differing levels of commitment and Scully didn’t see marriage as the end all and be all for her life. She just wanted one that included Mulder in it.

There was an unnerving and cold feeling that washed over her just then. It was sudden and as she looked up from her faux wedding ring, she spotted the source of that chill.

Across the courtyard and approximately one hundred yards from where she sat was a very bruised and battered looking Lisa Wylie.

Scully reached for her phone and tried to turn it on but the power was still too low. When she looked back to where Lisa had been standing, the woman was gone.

“Where-” she started and immediately got out of the vehicle. She took a few steps around the front of the SUV and scanned the crowd. “Where the hell did she go?”

Agent Bristol approached Scully and stood in front of the vehicle with her. He reached out and touched her elbow as he hunched slightly to catch her gaze. It was a move Mulder did often when he was trying to read her eyes.

“Hey, you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Scully said as she looked up to the agent. She forced a tight smile. “Really.”

Bristol shook his head. “What did you see, Dana?”

“The woman we found on the trail during the tour,” she started.

“Lisa Wylie is out of the hospital?” Bristol asked as he looked around and dropped his hand from her arm. “Where would she be?”

“ _How_ did she get out of the hospital?” Scully asked. “She was hanging by a thread when I found her.”

Bristol took her arm and led her back to the passenger side of the car. “Get in the car.”

Mulder approached with a plastic bag, a coffee tray and paper bag with small grease stains on the sides. He must have gotten something flaky and sweet and she hoped it was a chocolate croissant.

“What’s going on?” he asked as he looked from Bristol to Scully. “You okay?”

“Get in the car,” Bristol ordered Mulder. “We need to get you two home.”

Scully could see he was trying to process what he walked up on but he got in the back of the SUV regardless. Once the doors were shut, Mulder leaned forward between them.

“What happened?”

“I think I saw Lisa Wylie,” Scully said. “I saw her standing across the courtyard there.”

Mulder’s eyes followed where she was pointing and he reached for his door handle.

“Agent Mulder,” Bristol snapped as the rear passenger door swung open. “If you go chasing after that woman, your cover is as good as blown.”

Mulder looked at Scully then to Bristol. He closed the door and put on his seatbelt. “You better take us back to the condo so we can figure out what the hell is going on on our own then because being with you isn’t doing us much better.”

“I can see what you mean,” Bristol deadpanned to Scully.

Scully opened her mouth to reply but thought better of it. As she looked over her shoulder to Mulder, she saw him staring out the window with his jaw clenched.

That wasn’t a good sign.

They drove the rest of the short trip back to their rental in silence.

When they arrived back at their condo, Mulder opened his door before the car could be put in park. He was walking up to the front door with his bag over his shoulder and Scully looked at Bristol.

“Dana-”

“Agent Mulder wants to solve this case,” Scully cut him off. “Undermining him even slightly isn’t going to help us catch this killer.”

“So you _do_ believe it’s a Sasquatch-like creature murdering people?” he clarified.

Scully glanced to Mulder at the door and he shook his head and stormed inside their condo. “I believe that we saw _something_ in the woods that could be what Mulder saw in the city centre. I believe that these murders are targeted attacks. I also believe that they are somehow related in a way that Agent Mulder will be able to see a connection before you or I are able to. I think that you need to see why Agent Mulder was pulled in on this case-”

“Because Martinez and I asked for him,” Bristol cut her off. “We asked for you two. I know what he’s capable of.”

“Then why are you giving him such a hard time?” Scully asked him. Bristol’s dark cheeks reddened and she narrowed her eyes at him. “James? What is it?”

“I - I - don’t want to speak out of turn,” he stammered.

Scully crossed her arms and adjusted herself in the seat to turn to Bristol in the car. “What?”

“I saw you and Agent Mulder in your condo… and I realized you two were a couple,” Bristol admitted.

That worried her. Bristol could report them for not disclosing their relationship and they just got back on the X-Files. Kersh was still looking for reasons to close them down, even outside of the bullpen.

“When?” she asked.

“Two days ago,” he answered. “I’m not proud of my behaviour. I know you’re on an assignment and what I did could have blown your cover-”

“You were outside the condo?” Scully clarified and nodded slowly. “I thought I saw Dr. Horton.”

“He was there,” Bristol confirmed. “He was standing across the street near the board shop. I was following him and when I walked by, Mulder was holding you.”

Scully frowned. Leaving those drapes open was supposed to help solidify their cover but now she was worried about what Dr. Horton witnessed.

“I see,” she answered.

“So… I just was having some misplaced jealousy because I know that you’re not available-”

“You're right, I’m not,” she replied firmly. “And I’d appreciate it if you could put your personal feelings aside while we try to finish this case.”

Bristol held up his hands. “I will… and I won’t say anything to your A.D. about what I saw.”

Scully tucked her chin down as she contemplated his statement. “Agent Mulder and I would both appreciate that.”

Bristol reached out to touch Scully’s hand but she pulled back as something caught her eye over his shoulder. “James! It’s Lisa Wylie.”

Bristol turned in his seat to look for her. “Where?”

Scully looked passed Martinez again but she was gone. “She was just there!”

Bristol pulled his phone out of his pocket and hit the number one on his speed dial. The caller ID showed Martinez on the screen of his phone as he pulled it to his ear. “Rick…. get down here.”

Scully moved to get out of the car and Bristol grabbed her wrist. “Hey-”

“If she’s near the condo, it’s not safe,” he advised seriously.

Scully picked up her phone from the centre console, grateful to see it charged and finally turned back on. “I’ll call Mulder.”

Bristol released her arm and waved his hand to say ‘go ahead.’ She shook her head and dialled Mulder’s number. Bristol turned back to pay attention to his phone conversation. “Just get down here. I think Lisa Wylie might be involved.”

Mulder wasn’t answering his phone and she was worried he was either ignoring her or something was actually wrong.

“Dammit, Mulder,” she cursed under her breath. Scully dialled his number again and looked to Bristol. “When can Martinez get down here?”

“He’s on his way,” Bristol reassured her.

Mulder answered his phone just then with a tight, “Hello?”

“Where are you?” she asked him.

The line was quiet on the other end and she wondered if for a moment he had hung up on her. This wasn’t the time to argue about someone like James Bristol. They had a case to wrap up. A killer was still on the loose. The fact that he stormed off bothered her but she wasn’t going to bring that up now.

“Inside,” he replied finally.

“Mulder come outside,” she insisted.

“Can’t right now,” he replied. “I have a bit of a situation here.”

There was growling in the distance and a sharp, piercing raven’s cry that Scully found strange. She had a very bad feeling about the sounds that were coming through the phone.

“What is that?” she asked him.

“Get inside,” he whispered. “Get inside now! It’s _here_!”

Scully turned to Bristol. “Get your gun.”

 

  
***** *** *****

 

Inside the front hall, Mulder’s jacket was hung up and there was a cold wind coming from the back of the condo. With her weapon drawn, Scully listened for the sound of anything to give away where Mulder might be.

He wasn’t a man who ran to hide from a monster. He wanted to get up close and personal to anything that could be even classified as paranormal. With his gun at the ready, he often ran into a dark cave or down an alley or through the woods after anything to catch a glimpse of something that could confirm that science had to catch up with nature.

Footsteps echoed from overhead and she suspected that either Mulder or the creature was above them. The raven’s cry that Scully heard through the phone echoed down the hall and she could spot an open window and the blinds banging against the metal frame. Every single thing in her brain was telling her to help Mulder. Whatever had scared him had to be something incredible.

Bristol was behind her and she put her finger to her lips, signalling that they needed to go through the kitchen and head upstairs. Bristol nodded and they left the door open behind them. Martinez would be on his way but Mulder was in danger now.

The Eagle County Sheriff’s department would be sending two cars to watch the front door and the area behind the condo. This was happening and all of her tactical training needed to push itself to the forefront of her brain and become useful.

Scully took a steadying breath and began to walk softly and slowly through the foyer. Mulder was an excellent marksman and was not afraid to use his gun when necessary. The only feasible reason he would feel trapped is if he felt the creature in front of him could possibly not be dangerous.

“ _Aaaah_!” a cry from above them. They heard a gunshot and her chest tightened. The sound of broken glass and a growl echoed down the stairs. “ _Scullaaaaaay_!”

Without hesitation, Scully ran up the stairs to Mulder. Her legs were no longer tired. The fatigue of sleeping overnight in the woods had left her body and she tried to listen to anything but her heartbeat in her ears.

“Dana!” Bristol whispered behind her. Scully reached the top of the stairs and put a finger to her lips. “We _need_ backup.”

She shook her head. This wasn’t the time to hide in a closet or get caught off guard. She wasn’t going to be made a victim again and she didn’t have time to cower while someone else charged in to save her. She had to help Mulder and there was no question whether she should or not.

Scully shook her head. “I don’t have time to wait for backup. That’s my partner up there.”

Bristol shook his head just slightly as he resigned to her logic. Maybe it wasn’t logic and there was more emotion involved than necessary but she couldn’t stay dormant while Mulder needed help.

As she walked down the small hallway slowly, she steadied her nerves and approached the bedroom. A gust of wind blew past her and she held up her arm to protect her face.

Suddenly, Scully saw Lisa in the doorway. She was no longer bruised and bloody as she had appeared on the trail. How was that possible? The damage to her face and extremities needed at least two months to completely heal. The woman in front of her looked like the one she met at the RockResorts Spa - calculating and shifty.

“Dana!” Bristol called from behind her before firing his gun at Lisa.

Lisa jumped past Scully quickly and knocked Bristol down to the ground with an ease that broke the physical logistics of a woman of that size. Her hand reached back and she moved to swing at the agent under her as she stood snarling above him.

“Lisa!” Scully called.

Lisa stood tall over Bristol and suddenly she looked like the devil, like Donnie Pfaster and then like every attacker who had come at her with a gun with the hopes of overpower her because she was an easier target. This time, Scully wasn’t the intended target or, at least, she wasn’t yet.

Not again. She wasn’t going to be scared. This wasn’t going to be another note in her file where she was the victim. She had to stand up to this monster if she was ever going to stand up to another one ever again. This line of work didn’t allow for her to hesitate.

She stood in the hall five feet away from Lisa and Bristol and took one step closer. Lisa snarled again and Bristol tried to reach for his gun but it was out of reach.

“Stop!” she ordered with her gun drawn and pointed at Lisa’s chest.

“ _They all failed_!” Lisa screeched and Bristol covered his ears. "All of them!"

“Mulder?” Scully called over her shoulder as she took one step back towards the bedroom door.

She glanced over her shoulder but couldn’t see into the bathroom from where she was in the hallway. This wasn’t good. It worried her there was no answer. The man on the floor dove into action to save her when she needed him but now he was frozen on the ground. Why?

Lisa snarled at them. “Every couple I took. They cheated or lied. They were not worthy of the love they vowed to each other!”

Mulder appeared in the bedroom doorway then with a cut on his right shoulder that he was protecting like a wounded animal. He was just in a pair of boxer shorts as though Lisa came up on him as he was about to get into the shower. She caught him off guard. “Scully- be careful! It’s her. She’s the Raven Mocker!”

“You failed each other! You let this man get in between you two!” Lisa screeched.

“No!” Bristol denied.

“I saw her transform in front of me, Scully,” Mulder yelled. “That beast is Lisa!”

What beast?  
  
Scully turned back to Lisa. In front of her stood a woman her height with blonde hair and a slim build who looked nothing like the Raven Mocker. Those were mythological creatures with a tall angular frame, the head of a raven with wings and long claws. The small amount of information that Scully had found through Cherokee legends described the Raven Mocker as a beast that took the liver from the dying and appeared as an old, withered man or woman. Scully had a lot of doubts about the folklore behind these legends but now wasn’t the time to argue with what Mulder and Bristol were obviously scared of.

Maybe Mulder hit his head in the bathroom but he seemed fine other than his arm. Mostly, he seemed scared.

“It can’t…” she began. Why wouldn’t she see the Raven Mocker also? “How are… This is _impossible_!”

“Liars! Cheaters!” Lisa wailed at them. “You’re all _failures_! This man ruined it and you _let_ him! You don’t _deserve_ those rings!”

“Lisa stop!” Scully pleaded. “We didn’t-”

Lisa’s face was red with anger. She jumped with agility across the hallway towards her but Scully quickly realized, as she was aiming towards her and Mulder, that Lisa wasn’t after Scully. She was after Mulder.

“Mulder look out!” she cried as Lisa dove towards him.

Scully wasn’t going to allow Mulder to be injured further. This had to stop here. She fired her gun before Lisa could hurt him again.

Three sharp bangs echoed into the hallway and a high pitched ringing stung in her ears from the blowback from the gun. Scully’s head was aching but the sight of Lisa’s body in front of her prompted her into action as the young woman started to bleed out from her shoulder.

The hallway was quiet and Scully’s heart was racing as the adrenaline from what she had just done settled over her. The high-pitched ringing was slowly subsiding and she could smell the gunpowder in her nose but this time, there was no blood on her lip from being beaten. She had come out of this mostly unscathed.

Scully took a step towards Lisa’s body with the reoccurring feeling she had as she walked towards Donnie Pfaster after she had pulled the trigger. She didn’t look down and see the devil this time but she didn’t see anyone innocent either.

“Oh my god,” Bristol said as he sat up.

“Is she still alive?” Mulder asked.

Scully reached out and put her fingers to Lisa’s neck. Her pulse was steady but the pool of crimson liquid was spreading. “Not for long.”


	13. Lisa

The smell of gunpowder and blood filled her nostrils as she absorbed the sight of Lisa Wylie on the floor at her feet. Scully stood in the hallway outside the bedroom and looked from Mulder over to Agent Bristol. They both appeared to be over their initial shock from the attack but they would need medical attention. Bristol had scratches on his arms and face but was otherwise okay. After another look at Mulder, she could see his injuries, while also superficial and not serious, were slightly more extensive than Bristol. Scully needed to focus on Lisa, who was her most critical patient.

“I need a towel,” Scully told Bristol, pointing towards the narrow door along the wall as she knelt down to Lisa. “Get one from the closet, right there.”

Mulder grunted as he edged himself closer to where Lisa was laying. Bristol did as he was told as he past them to open the closet where a stack of linens awaited. The damage to these towels would go on their bill to the FBI along with the shattered coffee mug they broke a few days ago. At this point, it probably didn’t matter.

Bristol handed her a striped hand towel and Scully glanced at Mulder before she applied pressure to the wound on Lisa’s shoulder. From what Scully could see, she had only hit her twice and they appeared to both be through and throughs.

“Are you okay?” she asked Mulder.

As he sat in his boxers, he was looking at Lisa in horror. “I saw her as the Raven Mocker, Scully. She was _real_.”

“Mulder-” she began to argue but Bristol clucked his tongue. “What?”

“I saw it too,” he confirmed as he pulled out his phone. “I can’t describe it but she didn’t look like this until you shot her. She was the Raven Mocker.”

“Mulder, I was standing right _here_ ,” she reminded him. “She didn’t look like a Raven Mocker.”

“I know what I saw,” Bristol said intently. “I can’t believe I’m saying this but I concur with Agent Mulder… I gotta call this in for an ambulance and… fuck, I don’t know, _animal_ control?”

Bristol began walking away and Scully gave a cursory glance over to Mulder. His body could go into shock if he didn’t receive attention but her first step would be to get Mulder warm.

“Can you get Agent Mulder a blanket?” Scully requested as Bristol began to walk down the stairs.

Bristol turned around and walked into the bedroom to get a blanket. He returned with the quilt on the end of the bed and Mulder pulled it across his lap.

“Thanks, man,” Mulder acknowledged quietly as he shifted his body under the blanket. He must have seen something in Scully’s expression and he showed her his forearm that had been injured in the attack as well. “She barely scratched me.”

“I know. I don’t think you’re going to need stitches for that but I need to get that wound disinfected,” she responded to Mulder. She reached out to his chest to push his shoulder back and he winced. “Sorry. I’ll get you cleaned up as soon as the paramedics arrive.”

Mulder looked at the torn skin on his chest and then back up at Bristol who was watching them intently. “We need an ambulance.”

Bristol shook his head as he gave Scully an apologetic look. “Right.”

The Denver agent walked down the stairs of the condo and his voice vibrated up the stairs to where they were sitting. Mulder groaned as he slowly moved towards the bedroom and came back with two pairs of latex gloves. He donned a pair himself and took over applying pressure to the wound so Scully could wash her hands and glove up. She gave him a grin but there was a look in his eye that bothered her.

“What is it?” she asked.

Mulder breathed heavily through his nose as she took over applying pressure and he sat back against the wall of the hallway. “What were you denying?”

Scully gave him a look. “Mulder, can we get her to the hospital before we dive into the declarations of a woman who you think is a Raven Mocker?”

“When she came into the bathroom, she wasn’t making any sense,” he insisted as he tried to catch her gaze. She looked at him and he was watching her expectantly. “She said something to me about not being worthy of a ring. Then in the hallway, you were denying something. What did she say?”

She looked at him questioningly. “You heard her talking, Mulder.”

He shook his head slowly. “I heard her screeching and a cry so sharp - like a raven. It was unbearable to listen to. I didn’t hear her speaking to you. It’s curious that you could understand her. Cherokee legend tells that only true medicine men can see a Raven Mocker for who it really is.”

“First, I’m going to remind you that what we heard in the woods wasn’t screeching or wailing or anything unbearable to listen to,” she began and he made a face. She pressed the towel into Lisa’s shoulder and she moaned on the ground. “And second… I’m not a medicine man, I’m a medical doctor who happens to be a female. I don’t understand why you’re saying you couldn’t hear her speaking. I mean, she was yelling but it wasn’t what you’re describing at all.”

“Scully, I don’t think what we saw in the woods is what Lisa is,” he mentioned. “I have a theory about how this came to be but out there in the woods, I think we saw something else.”

“Mulder…”

“Do you believe Bristol and I that we saw something other than what you saw?” he asked.

“Mulder-” she began to protest but she stopped herself. “When we get Lisa to the hospital, we’ll have more answers. I don’t think there’s any test I can run that would confirm your theory but I believe you that you saw… something.”

Lisa groaned on the ground and she opened her eyes to look at Scully. “You saw me.”

“I shot you,” Scully corrected her.

“Don’t take it personally,” Mulder quipped. “She shot me too.”

“Shut up,” Scully muttered.

“It’s not…” Lisa began but she winced. “No… you saw _me_ not the monster.”

“Told you,” he whispered as he looked from Scully to Lisa. “What do you mean?”

“I’m a _monster_ ,” Lisa coughed.

“Are you responsible for the other deaths on the Bigfoot Adventure tours?” Mulder began to rattle off questions before she could answer them. “Are you picking the victims on your own? Are the murders connected in some way to your fiancee and his family? Have you ever seen a Sasquatch-like creature in the woods?”

Lisa opened her mouth but Scully cut her off. “You need to save your strength until we get you to the hospital.”  
  
“I need to know what the truth is before she’s taken away or this is buried again,” he said quietly. He cleared his throat as he tried to stand up. “I was trying to have a shower when she came in.”

He groaned as he straightened his legs and she assumed his soreness from sleeping outside overnight and the two hikes they did had caught up to him. She certainly wasn’t feeling her best right now but the adrenaline in her system that had yet to dwindle and remind her of her body’s exhaustion. The door downstairs opened and the sirens from the paramedics approaching could be heard from where they were in the condo.

“Lisa, hold on. We’re going to get you to the hospital,” Scully reassured her. “We’re going to help you. You’re going to be okay.”

The blood loss was slowing with the pressure and she was sure she hadn’t hit any major arteries. It wasn’t her intention to kill Lisa but to slow her down. Whatever Lisa had in her system that had allowed her to subdue Mulder and Bristol was powerful.

The paramedics assessed Lisa quickly and took her down the stairs strapped to a body board. Mulder assured them that Scully would bring him into the hospital to have his shoulder looked at as soon as he had a shower. Scully realized as the paramedics left that she had the smell of campfire smoke in her hair and the underlying scent of her own body odor.

Mulder had remained upstairs and in his boxers while Lisa was loaded onto the bodyboard. They asked Lisa a hundred questions and Scully only four.

“What calibre of gun were you using? Did you need medical attention? Is there anyone else injured in the house? Can you bring your partner into the hospital for a check on his vitals later?”

After they left with Lisa, Scully picked up their discarded packaging for intubating and treating her. She took the garbage into the bathroom where Mulder was obediently waiting for her. He sat on the edge of the tub while Scully prepared the antiseptic cloths and bandages before she tended to his shoulder.

“You could have let the paramedics check you out,” Scully noted as Mulder’s right knee bounced impatiently. Mulder gave her a questioning look and she nodded towards his leg. “If you’re in such a hurry.”

The paramedics had left twenty minutes prior with Lisa and Bristol followed them to the hospital. Scully had discarded her jacket and boots in the corner of the room before she began her examination on Mulder but nothing was helping her exhausted state. Her bare feet ached along the cold tile floor as she looked at Mulder’s arm. She desperately wanted to soak in a tub for the next three hours but they didn’t have time for that.

“I really want a shower,” he commented. “You know that I hate showering at hospitals. There’s no privacy. Am I going to be able to get clean with that stuff on?”

Scully took a water bottle with cool water and rinsed off Mulder’s shoulder to inspect the wound. She pulled out a pair of glasses she used when she was without a microscope or an amplifying desk lamp.

“What are _those_?” Mulder asked as she perched them on the edge of her nose.

Scully peered over the frames and gave him a look. “These are what I’m going to use to inspect the wound on your shoulder for foreign contaminants.”

He grinned at her but winced as she pulled on the skin. “Easy, Scully.”

She tried not to roll her eyes. “I’m doing my best not to hurt you further, Mulder. Don’t _squirm_.”

He made no further comments but she could tell he wanted to when she pulled out a strand of white hair from the cut on his arm. “What’s that?”

Scully tucked the trace evidence into a plastic bag. “I don’t know. It looks like the monkey hair we found on the other victims.”

“I saw a giant bird,” Mulder reminded her as he held up his free hand to show the ominous presence of the Raven Mocker. “Long fingers with claws on the end and large. Six feet tall at least. I saw a beast but it wasn’t Bigfoot.”

“I’m not jumping to conclusions about what it would be,” she pointed out. “I’m just mentioning what it could be.”

“Such a specific way of saying you’re guessing,” he teased her and she caught a look in his eye before they shared a smile.

It only took some butterfly strips to tend to Mulder’s shoulder and forearm but he was overall okay. His vitals were strong and he had no other signs of an injury. When she put her hand across his forehead to check for an elevated or a drop in his temperature, his eyes closed as he leaned into her touch.

“I’m checking you for a fever or if you’re cool and clammy,” she pointed out. “I’m not copping a feel.”

“I feel warm on my extremities,” he teased her.

“Take a breather, I need to wash up,” she instructed him and ignored his visible pout.

Mulder left her in the bathroom as she washed her hands. She worried he was in shock but not showing signs of it yet. If anything, his humour had indicated he was fine. She looked over her shoulder in the mirror to see him sitting on the bed with the quilt across his lap and a dazed look on his face. His expression was one of slight panic as he was obviously processing what they had witnessed.

The FBI forensics team would be arriving shortly to photograph where Scully had shot Lisa. There was a long report to write and they needed to interview her but all Scully wanted was to get out of Vail.

She missed the comfort of her apartment. Even though they had been eating a few home cooked meals in Vail, it wasn’t entirely the same. Being on the road meant eating more take out food, adjusting to a different time zone and sleeping in a bed that would never feel familiar.

She put some toothpaste on her toothbrush and began brushing her teeth. This wasn’t going to make her feel completely better but it was a start. When Scully rinsed out her mouth, Mulder was approaching her from the bedroom still wearing just his underwear.

“I need a shower,” he announced. “I think the paramedics didn’t insist on taking me with them because I have a stench going on. Stress B.O. is _not_ good.”

“Paramedics are used to that,” she reminded him.

“I don’t think this place gets many unwashed hobos,” he commented. “Maybe the snowboarding crowd.”

“You’re too well groomed to pass for a snowboarder,” she teased back and he smiled. Scully looked at his shoulder and shook her head with a slight grin. “I would join you but I don’t want that shoulder to get bothered.”

Mulder pushed his lips to the side in a pout as he contemplated his next statement. “I need help washing my back.”

She looked down at the blood on her shirt sleeves and sighed. When she looked up at him, she pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it on the floor. “No funny business.”

Mulder was looking directly at her breasts. “How long am I out of commission for?”

“You’re not,” she assured him. “I would just like to do one interview on this assignment having not been freshly fucked.”

Mulder’s jaw dropped and she could tell she had stunned him into silence. The man never shut up but apparently, something as crass as she could think of did the trick. She would tuck that away for future reference.

She proceeded to shed her hiking pants, bra and underwear. As she turned on the shower, she could hear Mulder’s boxers hit the floor next to her clothing. He stepped into the tub behind her and she could feel the heat from his body immediately.

“As I said,” she began as she turned to face him with a washcloth and soap in hands. “No funny business.”

Mulder held up his hands. “I’ll be good.”

Scully glanced down between them at the twitching member as it grew in size. She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Like I said on Kent Island,” he reminded her. “That part of me has a mind of its own.”

Scully took the soap and rubbed it into the washcloth to create a lather before spreading it across his body. The water on her skin felt amazing and she wanted to stay inside the shower to hide away from what they had just gone through. She had faced her demons in Donnie Pfaster and Lisa Wylie. She prevented the murder of two more lives and hopefully they had peeled back the edge of the coverup taking place in Vail.

“Scully?” Mulder asked as she carefully rubbed the washcloth over his chest. His fingers wrapped around her arm carefully and he pulled her wrist to his lips to kiss the sensitive skin. “What are you processing right now?”

She looked up into his eyes and knew she could trust him with what she was feeling. “I was afraid when Lisa was charging at you.”

“That’s natural,” he reassured her. “Most of what we face is scary. Does this have anything to do with what happened at the Bully Ranch?”

The attack on Scully that night had jarred her but it was nothing like what she faced with Donnie Pfaster. The man had planned to torture, tear apart, assault and murder her since he went to prison four years ago. The things he had been obsessing over were far more frightening than what she faced at the Bully Ranch. Although an attack out of the blue was still a horrifying event, she wasn’t a stranger to being randomly hurt or assaulted during a case. Being in the clutches of Duane Barry, Gerald Schnautz and Donnie Pfaster had taught her when she was being targeted because of her gender and size and when she was in the clutches of a madman.

“No,” she denied and it was true. “It was…”

Her voice faltered and she worried that she would always have a mental block when it came to a monster masked in the shell of a man’s body.

“ _Dana_ …” he started and the gentleness of her voice made her heart ache at his genuine concern. “Talk to me.”

She shook her head and used her free hand to push her hair back from her face and under the stream of water. “I’m scared that I’m going to see Donnie Pfaster in every monster we face.”

“You pulled the trigger on Donnie Pfaster and ensured no woman would ever face the horrors he inflicted upon you and his other victims,” Mulder said as he took the washcloth and bar of soap from her. He set the items down on the edge of the tub and took her hands in his. “You stopped an evil from rebirthing or festering.”

“I don’t know what you saw in Lisa, Mulder, but I saw just a woman,” she explained. “I saw the Devil in Donnie Pfaster.”

“Maybe you saw the embodiment of evil and by extension a devil-like creature in him because his motivations and fetishes fed on those who were vulnerable,” he theorized. “Is there anything more evil than someone in a position of power preying on someone who is defenseless?”

“Was I defenseless to Donnie Pfaster?” she asked him.

“He made you that way,” he pointed out. “When he encountered you, you were a capable, strong, gun-toting medical doctor who he had to run off the road, knock you unconscious and tie you up. His other victims had been corpses and then more recently, prostitutes he tried to manifest into your likeness. He was drawn to you because you represented everything he wasn’t. You’re everything that’s good in this world, Scully. Even the bullet that killed him was something good.”

Scully stepped under the stream of water and rinsed out her hair as she contemplated that statement. She didn’t know if she believed there was good in her that fired that gun. She worried it was a need for revenge that manifested in her freeing herself from the tethers around her wrists to charge into her living room to shoot Pfaster until he dropped to the floor.

“What did your priest tell you?” Mulder asked her.

Scully’s eyebrows shot up and she opened her mouth to reply but nothing came out.

“He had to advise you to forgive yourself,” he insisted as he picked up the soap and her loofah. He ran the scratchy sponge across her skin and she closed her eyes. “He would absolve you, wouldn’t he? An eye for an eye is big among the Catholic community, isn’t it?”

She nodded. “I haven’t really consulted with my priest. I haven’t had time.”

Mulder turned them in the shower and moved behind her to wash her back. She stretched her body and held on to the bar on the wall for support.

“I was supposed to be _helping_ you,” she commented as he moved the sponge across her lower back and hips.

“Scully, I’m not a man of the cloth nor am I someone who could give religious advice,” he reminded her as he kissed her shoulder. “But I want you to know that I absolve you of any guilt around Pfaster. No one in their right mind could think you had any other choice. A prison wasn’t going to hold him. Father Orison couldn’t cure him of his sickness. The only justice for someone like him is death.”

“What does that do to me?” she asked. “And my soul?”

“Does the Catholic Church believe in necessary evils?” Mulder countered her. “To combat violence, hatred, injustice, greed, poverty and lust, can’t we combat these things with something just as equal to squash them out?”

“A snuffed fire still gives off smoke,” she reminded him. “There’s consequences for what I’ve done.”

Mulder pulled her back to his body in the shower and he held her with his uninjured arm while he kissed the top of her head. “In this shower, under this unholy water, then maybe I absolve you. And you can take that or leave it but no one in this world will ask you why you put a stop to a man that represented the worst of all humanity.”

She closed her eyes and leaned the back of her head against his chest. “I want to believe that.”

“Let me believe it for the both of us,” he offered. “You can let me carry the load of what burdens you too if you need.”

She turned in his arms and he kissed the top of her forehead. Her jaw clenched as the weight of her fears lifted just slightly. Even though he couldn’t physically carry what was ailing her with the emotional payload of taking Donnie’s life, she did appreciate his offer. It was enough to make her realize that she wasn’t going on her journey alone. It reminded her of the keychain he got her during her cancer. She thought it was a gag gift but there was something else deeper involved in the symbolism of it. She wondered if he ever thought about that present or that dark time in their lives when cancer threatened to end her life and their partnership.

“What?” she asked him as she caught the look on his face.

“You know that keychain I got you?” Mulder asked.

“I was just thinking about that,” she admitted as she lathered shampoo through her hair. He shook his head. “No, I was.”

Mulder watched her with a grin as she rinsed her hair out. “Is a nexus brain thing happening now because we’re sleeping together-”

“I think we’ve just been partners for long enough,” she cut him off with a smile.

Mulder pushed her back into the wall of the shower gently and kissed the skin along her neck. “I just want you to know…”

He was punctuating every word with a kiss and the fluttery feelings in her stomach returned. It felt like the first time he kissed her all over again but her body was taught with anticipation for what she knew would come next, not the unknowing of whether it would.

“Yes?” she whispered.

“I didn’t want you to go it alone,” he said as he pushed his desire into her belly. “I wanted you to know I was going to be with you every step of the way with your illness.”

“You wouldn’t-”

It scared her to think of Mulder being on the brink of something dangerous to himself because she might die. Her cancer had shook them both to their core because it wasn’t a monster or a shadowy figure in their government. It was something inside of her that they couldn’t destroy with the truth and their badges.

He shook his head. “No… I mean, I felt pretty reckless when I asked that doctor to drill a hole in my head and thought some pretty extreme thoughts. I won’t lie and say it wasn’t connected to your illness-”

“Mulder-”

His lips captured hers and she tasted the sweet croissant he had eaten in the car before this all took place. Mulder usually tasted like sunflower seeds and something inherently masculine. This was a nice change. Maybe she should start buying croissants for the weekends together.

“ _Mulder_ -” she attempted as the kiss broke but he caught her mouth again. More passionately and deeper as though it was with the intent it would go somewhere like her legs wrapping around his waist.

She allowed herself to get caught up in the passion and her sex throbbed in anticipation at being touched. It was amazing how quickly she could feel herself needing him again after just being taken by him the previous night. Something inside of her vibrated like a taught skin across a drum as her impatience for him palpitated with urgency.

Why was every kiss so delicious? When would she tire of his touch?

Her mind tried to put the breaks on what was building between them. This couldn’t lead to something in here. They had an investigation to finish. Lisa couldn’t have been acting alone this whole time. Mulder had just told her he was willing to die to save her during her cancer. There were still a lot of loose ends in their investigation for them to tie up instead of allowing themselves to get caught up in another afternoon’s ill-timed tryst.

She pushed on his chest and he kissed along her collar bone. “I… that’s a really heavy statement to make about someone you weren’t sleeping with.”

" _Yet_ ," he pointed out.

She grinned. "Okay... yet."

“Does that scare you?” he asked her with worry in the crinkles around his eyes and a furrowed brow.

She shook her head. “It’s reassuring that you were determined to save me.”

Mulder grinned at her. “You saved me first. On that bed in Oregon in your bathrobe, you listened to me and asked me to trust you. No one else had offered an olive branch before. It… it was a _lifeline_.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed the side of his head. She had only tried to do as she was asked when she was assigned to the X-Files. They had to earn each other’s trust, they chose to build a friendship and against all odds, they fell in love. It wasn’t supposed to be a romance - she was sent to ensure his work was valid or they had a reason to shut him down.

It was eye-opening as a scientist as they worked through each case. It was exciting as an agent to work in an area of the Bureau that took them all over the country. At the very least, it was liberating as a woman in a boy’s club of a government organization to feel nothing but respect from Mulder for her work instead of paying attention to the length of her hemline on her skirt. Sometimes, rarely but occasionally she would admit that she hoped he would notice more things about her than just her work. Now she had it all and realized at any other time, Mulder’s attentions would have been too overwhelming. They had to find their footing as friends and partners before they could foray into a romance.

“I told you once, I wouldn’t put myself on the line for anyone but you-” she started.

“And you did,” he insisted. “Even when I didn’t deserve it.”

“Mulder-” she attempted but her feelings overwhelmed her.

Mulder told her once that he wasn’t the kind of man you were supposed to fall in love with. He liked to think of himself as unloveable as a choice and she knew that. If he pushed everyone away first, they couldn’t leave him behind. As much as he tried to ditch her in the beginning, bound by duty and an honour to her badge, she was relentless in her own pursuit for higher truths.

His dark and complicated history didn’t scare her or push her away. Her heart ached for him and she felt loyal to his quest immediately. It became her own quest after her abduction and the crimes committed against her only solidified that pursuit.

“I needed _you_ as much as you needed _me_ ,” she said as she stepped away from him. “I needed everything you showed me in life. I couldn’t have gone on this journey with anyone else.”

“What if you didn’t go on the journey at all?” he asked her regretfully.

“I’m not thinking about what I _lost_ along the way, Mulder,” she told him as she pressed her face against his bare chest. She looked up into his eyes and saw his doubt and worry. “I think about everything I’ve gained. I’d do it all over again. It made me who I am. This is the version of myself I was _meant_ to be. This life with its tragedies and all its joys.”

Mulder was a guy in a fox hole and she jumped in willingly. She ended up miles off target from her career aspirations but those weren’t the kind of goals she held for herself these days. She didn’t know what she wanted from her career anymore. As they stood in that shower after they had just survived another event of supernatural phenomenon, she felt at home. He was the ultimate match and the only person for her. He was her everything now. Their work had become the cement between the bricks instead of the building blocks. It wasn’t science but there was something reassuring that Mulder came to her house because he had a bad feeling and finding her in time before Pfaster was able to finish his sadistic fantasies.

Scully pulled the trigger but she knew Mulder would have done everything in his power to stop Pfaster. It was the least Scully could do to stop Lisa as she charged at Mulder. From the very beginning, they put themselves in harms way for the other. At this point, it was second nature and something she didn’t think twice about. Maybe it was weakness but it was also their ultimate strength.

She ran her finger over the edge of the bandage on his shoulder. “I could have lost you today.”

“I gotta admit, Scully,” Mulder began and he licked his lips as his fingers danced along her bare waist. This was a precursor to sex, the conversation that cleared the air so they could find themselves lost in ecstasy. It was long and arduous sometimes but therapeutic. “I heard you come upstairs. I knew I needed to find you but I was not feeling my most confident. Going out there in my underwear without a gun wasn’t so smart.”

“ _Nevertheless_ , you were heroic to charge into the hallway,” she commented.

“I think I _stumbled_ in a haze of shock and fear but I like the way you paint me in that picture,” he replied with a grin.

Scully pulled his face down to kiss him again but he turned his mouth from hers. Before she could protest, he narrowed his eyes at something beyond the door.

“Did you hear something?” Mulder asked.

Scully turned off the shower and listened. A voice was downstairs calling their names - not their undercover names. It had to be Greene or Martinez with the crime scene unit. This was not the kind of timing that Scully or Mulder appreciated at times like these. If this was a possible life-threatening situation, the arrival of another police car would be fortuitous.

“Is that the crime scene unit already?” Scully asked as she pulled a towel around her. “I thought they were just going to check the hallway outside the bedroom later today.”

“Who the hell knows,” he muttered. “These guys are _killing_ my game.”

Scully looked down at the space where Mulder had obviously been stricken by Lisa and made a mental note to be careful around the sink. It wasn’t going to change their investigation either way.

Mulder wrapped a towel around his waist and held up a finger to her. He exited the bathroom to leave her to dress but she was annoyed that she didn’t have time to condition her hair.

Scully grabbed the leave-in conditioner from the counter and ran her hands through her hair as she listened at the door. She could hear Mulder speaking loudly with a tension in his voice. This wasn’t a good sign.

Scully dressed quickly in jeans and a turtleneck and came down the stairs to find Deputy Greene standing in their front hallway in a face off with Mulder.

“What’s going on?” she asked with a towel in hand for her hair.

“There’s an incident at the hospital,” Greene told them and gave Scully a strange look. “You need to come right now.”

Scully glanced at Mulder. “We can be there in ten minutes.”

“That’s what I said,” Mulder replied. “We know the way.”

Greene shut the door behind him. “The idiot Bigfoot tour guys have been brought in to the sheriff’s office. If you’re not worried about your cover anymore, I need one of you to come with me for questioning. They know something about these murders. We need to go, now!”

Mulder looked down at his half-naked frame. “This is the second time today I’ve been this naked in front of another man. Can I just put some pants on and we can discuss this?”

Greene rolled his eyes. “I’ll wait down here.”

Scully followed Mulder up the stairs and grabbed her brush from the bathroom. “What’s that about?”

“He accused me of jerking off instead of working this assignment like I wasn’t stuck out in the middle of the fucking woods overnight,” he said as he tossed his damp towel across the edge of the tub. He walked into the bedroom and pulled out a pair of underwear from the drawer by the doorway. As he put on new jeans and a shirt, he was clearly still fuming. “I’m out here chasing monsters in the dark and this kid thinks I brought you out here to play house. I haven’t risked my ass in over a hundred different situations just so this guy could undermine over ten years of work because he thinks I can’t have sex and think about a case in the same day.”

“Greene lost someone close to him, Mulder,” Scully reminded him as she plugged in her hair dryer and grabbed her brush. “He knows about our relationship but that doesn’t detract from the fact that he asked for you and I to come out here to help. If he thinks that you agreed to take this case with ulterior motives then he’s not as smart as he thinks he is. And he doesn’t know you.”

Mulder pulled a cardigan from the dresser drawer and put on a pair of thick socks. He donned his glasses and ran a comb through his beard to maintain the part of Mitchell Robinson, his undercover persona. It seemed like a moot point now since their cover had most likely been blown but he didn't have any other clothing.

She knew Mulder would be happy to go back to his more relaxed out of office attire when they got back to Washington but she hoped some of these more refined pieces could make it into the rotation. Maybe on date nights, if they ever did those.

“How do you want to go forward?” she asked after she used a blow dryer on her hair.

“I think our cover is blown,” Mulder noted and she nodded in agreement. He pulled on his faux wedding ring with his thumb and forefinger but left the piece of jewellery on. “I was just getting used to wearing this thing.”

Scully looked over her shoulder as he eyed the band on his hand and stood in the bathroom. Careful not to disturb the scene any further, she put on a minimal amount of makeup. “Do you want to question Kyle and Gerald while I ask Lisa if she had an accomplice?”

“Sure. It will give me a chance to show Greene I’m more than just a pretty face,” he agreed.

As they left the bedroom, Scully placed a note on top of the dresser for points of interest but if they had contaminated the scene, so be it. She was more concerned with getting a confession from Lisa versus one area of the attack. What happened at the top of the stairs and Mulder’s statement would be enough.

When they came downstairs, Deputy Greene was sitting at their kitchen table and bouncing his leg. “Ready?”

“I’m going to the hospital and Agent Mulder is going with you to question Kyle and Gerald,” Scully informed him.

Greene put on his hat and held out his arm towards the door. “Let’s go then, Agent Mulder.”

Scully grabbed her jacket and Mulder placed the keys in her palm. He stepped towards her and glanced back at Greene warily before putting his lips to her ear.

“If anything at all seems suspicious while you’re there, please call me immediately,” he said quietly to her. “I can be at the hospital from the sheriff’s office in _four minutes_.”

The comment made in front of Greene could have come off as undermining to her abilities as an agent but she appreciated his concern. Scully pulled her head back and nodded without looking to see what Greene’s expression might be.

He gave her upper arm a reassuring squeeze and they left her in the front hall of the condo.

Scully closed the door and called Bristol from her cell phone. He was waiting in the ER with a police escort while Lisa’s gunshot wound was being worked on. Martinez would be coming by their condo with a crime scene unit in a few hours. She put on a pair of boots, grabbed her notebook and tucked her gun holster into the back of her pants. This was the first time she felt like herself since they left D.C. and she wasn’t going to allow a near-miss with a so-called Raven Mocker disrupt a feeling of assuredness that she had been longing to get back.

 

  
**** **** ****

 

The Vail Valley Medical Centre was a proper hospital with the grandeur and space that a larger city hospital offered and had all the trappings of a usual medical services location. As Scully parked their SUV, she noted that it was a sleek building with a clean design that most new facilities were going for.

Scully wondered if it was purposely tucked among what looked like a dense forest to keep up the tourist illusion they were in a mountain paradise or it was a coincidence.

There was a lot about Vail that appealed to Scully even though she wasn’t much for skiing or snowboarding. She could do the former but it had been years since she put on a pair of skis and hit the slopes for fun. It was around the same time she and Mulder stopped making weekend plans with friends now gone by the wayside. She was tired of apologizing for cancelling at the last minute or calling from the road that she was still out of town and going to miss another planned social event. The only friend who even tried to understand what Scully had been going through was her sister, Melissa and she had pushed her away to try to protect her. After that happened, it became clear why Mulder was wary of even letting Scully get close to him.

The friendship between the unlikely pair grew out of necessity as their partnership strengthened. It was nice to have him on her side over the years and on the odd occasion, they did have moments of respite, however those were too few and far between. By the time she realized she was in love with him, it felt impossible to see herself with anyone else. Her love for Mulder reminded her there was more to life than just work but they seemed to be going nonstop from case to case. At the rate Scully and Mulder were going, life wouldn’t slow down until something forced them to.

Until Mulder took her to Kent Island, she didn’t imagine a time he would ever force a break from work for either of them. It made her feel reassured that he wanted them to start their relationship off on the right foot and the last two months felt good until Pfaster returned to their lives.

If Dana Scully had taken a vacation after every traumatic event in the last seven years, she would have missed more cases than she had worked on.

As she walked into the reception, she scanned the other patients in the chairs waiting to be seen by the intake clerks as she looked for Agent Bristol. She made eye contact with a young man with a red vest over his long-sleeved T-shirt and she passed the bank of computers and nurses assessing patients to approach him.

“Hi, I was hoping you can help me,” she said as she pulled out her badge from her jacket. “My name is Dana Scully and I’m a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I’m looking for a patient.”

“I thought you were Sophie Robinson,” the young man replied as he pointed at her with a confused look. “I was here when that tall white man with a beard came running in looking for you. Your husband?”

“Oh…” she started with a shake of her head. “I’m actually-”

“An FBI agent?” he guessed with a smile. “I got that.”

Scully let a breath out and looked past him. “I’m trying to find the man who brought me in here the other night. He came in behind a paramedics crew.”

“The Idris Elba look-alike?” the candy striper asked. “He just went into emergency with Dr. Horton’s fiancee.”

“Who?” she was confused at the reference.

The reception area was a lulled quiet of people waiting with minor cuts and wounds while the excitement of the urgent patients being cared for was beyond the set of doors. She knew the direction she was going in but the last visit she had here was a bit of a blur.

At the time, she was too rattled to mind when Bristol picked her up out of the car and carried her in his arms through the emergency reception. When they had arrived, he charged through the double doors and held her until someone brought a bed to him. She was too shaken to feel embarrassed at the grandeur of him swooping in to save her. She felt her cheeks pink as she tried to hide that embarrassment now.

“Idris Elba? Lady, you need to watch the BBC,” the young man commented as he looked at his clipboard. “We get it on satellite from Canada. It’s weird.”

She wasn’t sure if he was referring to the satellite coming from Canada or the programs but this wasn’t exactly the time. “Um-”

“Right, your friend,” he cut her off. “I would tell you that you need to wait out here since you’re not family but since you’re carrying a badge, I suppose that gets you a pass anywhere you want.”

“Most places,” she admitted. “Any idea where in the ER I’m going to be looking for them?”

“My handy sheet here tells me she’s in Trauma Room 1,” he explained. “You can head on through the doors and it’s to the right.”

“Thank you,” she replied tightly and left him with her badge in hand to find Lisa Wylie.

As she was walking through the doors, two men she recognized were standing in handcuffs next to Agent Bristol. It was Daniel and Andrew Horton with their hands behind their backs as they stood awkwardly in the hallway.

“ _You_!” a voice accused and Scully was knocked aside as Dr. Wesley Horton, their brother, charged past her and towards the twins. “Why did you do this?”

While Daniel and Andrew were approximately the same height and size as their brother, they seemed more intimidated by him than Scully would have expected.

“We didn’t do it!” one of the twins denied. “We didn’t ask her to go there!”

“Danny’s right!” Andrew defended. “This wasn’t part of the plan!”

Wesley Horton grabbed his brother by the shirt while the other stepped back, unable to protect himself with his hands behind his back. “I said that was _enough_! I said no more! The FBI is sniffing around-”

“Dr. Horton,” Scully interrupted as she approached with her badge open and her palm facing him to slow down. “Let go of your brother, please.”

He turned to her and his face visibly reacted to the badge but his distraction was temporary. “They killed Lisa!”

“She’s not dead,” Agent Bristol told him as he pulled Wesley’s arms down from his brother’s plaid button up shirt. “She’s sedated.”

“What?” Wesley asked as he wiped a hand across his mouth. “She's not dead? They told me she had been shot.”

Scully took a step back and tucked her badge in her jacket. “ _I_ shot her. She was going to attack my partner.”

"You said she was a doctor here on vacation with her husband," Andrew muttered.

"Of course Wes gets this wrong," Daniel muttered.

"Shut up!" Dr. Horton yelled at his brothers and they flinched at his outburst.

A young nurse in pastel green scrubs exited the trauma room into the hallway where they were standing and gave them all a stern look. “Take this out to the reception! We have patients trying to receive _serious_ medical attention.”

Scully put her hand on Dr. Horton’s arm and she glanced down the hallway where a security team was approaching. “Dr. Horton, _please_.”

He shook his head and they all walked back down the hallway and out to the reception area. They passed through the doors with Dr. Horton and his brothers in between the security guards while Scully and Bristol walked behind them.

Mulder’s voice was heard across the reception before she spotted him. “Scully!”

She stepped around the crowd of men and walked towards Mulder. He spotted the security guards and the handcuffs on Daniel and Andrew.

“What did they do?” he asked her.

She shrugged. “They were in handcuffs when I arrived.”

“I cuffed them when they tried to pull Lisa out of the trauma room,” Bristol explained.

“It’s been a little crazy around here,” she explained to Mulder as the security team moved the Horton brothers towards an empty row of chairs.

Bristol, Mulder and Scully moved across the lobby to stand in front of the men as they sat awkwardly next to one another.

“What happened at the police station?” Scully asked in a hushed tone.

Martinez approached then before Mulder could respond. “The blood on the front step belonged to a mountain lion and we found the carcass off the path about four miles north of the cabin.”

“Did you tell him about the Raven Mocker?” Bristol asked Mulder.

Mulder nodded. “I did but he didn’t believe me.”

“How could you not believe it?” Daniel asked Martinez. “I can’t explain how we created this thing…”

“Danny shut up!” Andrew urged him.

“We should tell the truth,” Wesley insisted as he leaned forward on his elbows. Scully pulled her notebook from her jacket and watched Mulder, Bristol and Martinez do the same. “ _We_ did this.”

“How did you do it?” Mulder asked. “How did you make this happen?”

Dr. Horton opened his mouth to speak but he stopped himself. “I think we should consult with a lawyer.”

Scully crossed her arms under her breasts and nodded once. “Fine. Then you’re all under arrest.”


	14. The Hospital

The reception area in the hospital had quieted down some when they arrived with security and police officers. People who had been previously trying to distract themselves from waiting with magazines or the television on the wall were now watching the scene unfold to the left of the emergency room doors. Some were polite enough not to stare but others were blatant and obviously curious.

Whether or not the reputations of the Horton brothers were protected right now wasn’t Mulder’s concern. Usually, this was the kind of thing Scully would argue whether or not they should be doing this so publicly, but he supposed since this case almost cost them both their lives, her main concern now was to find out why they had done this to Lisa.

Wesley Horton stood up from where he was sitting in the waiting area and took a threatening step towards Scully. Regardless of the security guards and police officers standing close by, his eyes were focused on the female agent in front of him. Instead of being intimidated by his size comparably, she stood her ground while only tilting her head slightly to keep eye contact with the tall doctor.

“What did you say to me?” he asked her in an even but angry tone.

“Easy there,” Mulder warned as he put a hand up between Scully and Wesley Horton.

“I said you’re all under arrest,” she repeated authoritatively, yet calmly. “You knew about these murders and did nothing. At the very least, you’re all accessories to the deaths of twelve people. If you knew what was happening to Lisa, then you had a duty and an obligation in the medical field to help her.”

Mulder had heard this tone many times before. She wasn’t going to back down to a suspect due to his physical size or stature in a community. Dr. Wesley Horton had both going for him but this case had shown them that the persons involved went beyond just the woman lying in the hospital bed fifty feet away. It wasn’t Lisa acting alone. The Horton family was all involved somehow and he had a feeling it went back to the loss of the family business.

“We didn’t force her to do anything or make her into what she was,” Andrew spoke up.

Daniel nudged him as he sat awkwardly with his hands cuffed behind him. He muttered, “Wes said to wait for a lawyer.”

“Why should we?” Andrew scoffed back from the chairs. “It’s half his fault we’re in this shit.”

Andrew and Daniel Horton appeared to be the kind of twins that bickered as much as they attempted to be in cahoots with each other. Mulder could recall some of the major cases the FBI investigated with of twins who murdered together. Most of their victims had been their parents, whereas these victims seemed to serve a revenge purpose. He wondered if the FBI Academy would include the involvement Andrew and Daniel had or overlook them among cited cases of twins who murder for new recruits. Regardless, this was an interesting file to work on and he had hoped that more of their work would be cited.

“My fault?” Wesley repeated as he touched his chest and shook his head at them. “I’m not taking any blame here but I definitely want a lawyer. I’m not getting pinned for this crap by some FBI agents when this whole town was happy to let this happen.”

“You might not have set up Lisa to become the Raven Mocker but you used her to target people on the tour to ruin Gerald and Kyle,” Mulder told the men as he gently pushed on Wesley’s chest to have him sit down again. “I’m curious to know how this all started but I doubt that your first thought was to get her help.”

“She was into some strange shit,” Daniel argued this time and Andrew reached across their older brother to swat his leg at him. “ _Hey_!”

“Wes was working all the time and she was lonely,” Andrew spoke up. “She wasn’t obsessing over anything except why they weren’t married yet.”

“Sure, blame the guy that got her out of the hospital and found her a job,” Wesley scoffed as he crossed his arms. “I did everything I could think of. You guys- you guys were _no_ help! They…”

“They what? Keep going,” Bristol encouraged him.

Mulder glanced over to where Bristol and Martinez were standing next to Scully. He suddenly remembered the discussion they started to have about what Lisa was saying. There was more than just the loose ends of this case to deal with.

“Maybe we should all shut up,” Wes spoke up and the three brothers looked up at the agents and police officers before collectively closing their mouths.

“You need to retain counsel but in the meantime, we’ll be taking you to the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office,” Scully told them.

Mulder looked over his shoulder to one of the deputies standing with his hands on his hips. “Let’s get these guys out of here.”

The officers moved in to cuff Wesley Horton and as the metal bonds were put around his wrists, each brother gave Mulder and Scully a cursory glance before being escorted off.

Through a busy crowd of people, Deputy Greene approached Mulder and Scully in the lobby as Agent Martinez and Bristol took the Horton brothers off to the police station. He looked slightly dishevelled for the first time since they had gotten arrived in Vail. His eyes were bloodshot and his uniform was slightly askew as though he had more than just words with someone.

“Where have you been?” Mulder asked as he looked over Greene’s messy appearance.

“Interviewing Kyle and Gerald _alone_ ,” Greene reminded him as he retucked his shirt. “After you left me to take that phone call, I went in to talk to them together. I was sure they were involved-”

“They weren’t,” Mulder cut him off. “Wesley, Daniel and Andrew Horton were somehow co-conspirators with Lisa… They’re our suspects and I believe also guilty for the murders.”

“Doctor Horton is a staple in this community. Andrew and Daniel are good boys,” Greene disagreed. “These guys have more of an involvement than you think. They’re not just some fans of a mythological creature that may or may not exist-”

Mulder shook his head and began walking to the door. Scully and Greene hurried to keep up as his frustration mounted to communicate without some kind of discourse or argument from the deputy.

He stopped and turned to Greene. “You’re blind to who’s actually guilty. You want to blame these idiots for keeping their business running while they knew about the dangers of the Raven Mocker attacking their clients but until we prove they actually were complicit in these, all we can charge them with is reckless endangerment. Which I’m pretty sure we signed a waiver before we went on the tour.”

“You have an answer for everything, I guess,” Greene scoffed.

Scully stepped towards them in an obvious attempt to mediate and quell any tension. “Deputy Greene, we want to help you find justice for your cousin and the other victims but you need to be satisfied with who is truly to blame here.”

Greene shook his head at Scully. “I know who’s guilty and if you’re not going to help me prove it, then I’ll do it on my own.”

The young man started to walk away from them and Mulder took two long strides to catch up. He grabbed the deputy’s upper arm before he could go any further.

“Take it from someone who often went down a path that was the wrong one,” Mulder warned him. “You have to be sure.”

Greene looked between them at Mulder’s grip on his arm. “I am.”

He released his hand and watched the deputy storm off out of the hospital. Scully stepped towards him and put her hands up between them with a look that said a lot.

“Don’t,” he warned her before she could start.

“I didn’t-”

“Seriously, Scully,” he cut her off. “This is the kind of boneheaded, idiotic, bullshit-”

“That you used to pull and I’d have to race in and save your ass at the last minute?” she provided. His jaw dropped as she grinned at him before straightening her expression. “Mulder, he can’t get into any trouble if we prove that it was the Horton’s acting separately. I agree with him that Kyle and Gerald were probably more aware of what was going on than they led on but I don’t think their greed necessarily equates to them being murderers. They’re complicit, yes, but not to the same extent as Wesley, Daniel and Andrew.”

She had a point but that didn’t make his concern for Greene lessen. The deputy didn’t have someone like Scully to reign him in but Mulder wasn’t sure that he would have listened if someone like Scully had come along sooner. It took almost a year for him to stop distrusting her reports and who she was to the X-Files besides an assigned agent there to spy on him. It took even longer than that for him to recognize that it was more than just his reputation on the line. In hindsight, Mulder was aware of how much of an ass he was then and he tried to curb those tendencies now. It was a long, difficult road towards seeing Scully’s science as the thing that validated his work versus debunking it.

In this instance, it wasn’t so much that Greene needed someone to back him up but someone to show him the truth. Mulder identified with that.

He nodded at Scully. “I agree with you but it’s that stubborn kid that needs to be talked down-”

“Pot meet kettle,” she interjected again but she was grinning at him.

Mulder used his good arm to steer her towards the door as he fished into his jacket pocket awkwardly with his other hand. “Let’s get to the station. I don’t want to show up and find out they left the Hortons together long enough to get their stories straight.”

Scully took the keys from him and held them up as they walked towards the parking lot. “I’m driving.”

 

***** *** *****

 

“Their stories are identical,” Bristol announced as Scully and Mulder approached the Denver agents inside the sheriff’s office.

“What?” Mulder asked incredulously. He scoffed and did a slight turn in his spot before looking back at the agents. “What the hell happened? We were just with them.”

Bristol and Martinez were standing outside an interrogation room with frustrated faces. Bristol shook his head.

“An Eagle County Sheriff’s officer put them in the same room after they were read their rights and they asked for a lawyer,” Martinez practically spat. His cheeks were pink with anger and he looked past them to shout, “A bunch of real amateurs over here!”

“Rick,” Bristol warned him and Martinez gave a pointed look at the group of officers standing sheepishly across the bullpen. “He’s right but this isn’t really the time to burn every bridge we’ve got right now. We might need these folks when we come back for the trial.”

“They can’t kick us out of their police department,” Martinez reminded his partner with his hands on his hips. “This is a federal case and if they obstruct our investigation, they’ll be charged with such. I don’t care what kind of popularity contest they want to win among the citizens. You can’t win them back when you’re labelled a criminal.”

“Just ask O.J.,” Mulder scoffed and the Denver agents laughed in surprise.

Mulder glanced over to Scully to see her feigning her disapproval for the joke. The edge of her mouth curled up just slightly and she turned away from him so he knew he had her almost smiling.

She cleared her throat and glanced up at him quickly. “Is their lawyer here?”

“He’s on his way,” Martinez told her. “I just can’t believe our luck. We walked into the interrogation room and they gave us the exact same story.”

“They worked fast figuring that out,” Scully noted and Bristol scoffed.

“You know how many killers walk free because of this kind of bush league bullshit?” Martinez snapped again and the bullpen cleared out a little.

This wasn’t the time to lecture local officers on standard procedure when dealing with multiple suspects. It was such an obvious mistake that Mulder imagined it had to be done on purpose.

“Are the Bigfoot Adventure Tour guys still here?” Mulder asked. “Greene is on a tear about them being involved.”

Bristol shook his head as they walked towards a set of desks. “They’re clean. I can’t see how they would be involved. They needed to make money and how to you drum up business if everyone around you is dying? Even if these guys knew what was happening-”

“Not stopping their tour when they knew what was going on makes them complicit,” Martinez argued as he sat down. He sighed heavily and adjusted the holster on his hip. “They’re all dirty.”

“I would have to agree with Rick and the deputy,” Scully spoke up as she leaned against the desk Martinez was sitting at. “At the very least, they knew more than they were letting on.”

Mulder put his hands on his hips. “Are you guys going to go out to check on them? Make sure Greene doesn’t do something stupid?”

“They’re still here,” Martinez said as he pointed over his shoulder.

Mulder took a few steps beyond him and looked around. “Where?”

Martinez spun his chair around pointed down the long hallway off the bullpen before moving back to face Mulder.

“The sheriff put them in protective custody when Greene stormed out of here earlier,” Martinez explained and patted his suit pockets for change. “He’s been putting up road blocks in our investigation but exposing those idiots for what they knew proves that the murders were more than just animal attacks.”

Martinez got up from the desk and walked over to the vending machine to get himself a pop. He returned with two and handed Bristol an iced tea. Mulder looked at the can on the desk and grinned at Scully.

“You guys want one?” Bristol asked as he held up some change.

Mulder took two quarters from the Denver agent and got a can for them to share. He didn’t care about what anyone would say about the intrusion at this point. Scully wouldn’t have more than a couple of sips anyway.

He returned to where they had set up their files with a can of Rocky Mountain Lemon-Limeade and popped the top. He contemplated the case as he took a sip and handed it to Scully. She had moved from sitting at the edge of a desk to behind one with her posture upright as she watched the bullpen around her.

This was all starting to make more and more sense. Greene was working against the entire sheriff’s department and no matter what he did, he lost. Mulder had to feel for the guy but in the end, it wasn’t going to bring to justice those who were involved. Mulder had the opportunity to get some closure on this case, more than any other he had in the past, and to help Lisa. Exposing the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office would be icing on the cake but it wasn’t his top priority.

The Horton brother’s lawyer arrived shortly thereafter and Mulder and Scully took over a desk in the bullpen as they waited for word from the hospital on Lisa Wylie. Mulder pulled out his case notes from his jacket pocket and glanced over to Scully who was sitting stiffly with her hands in her lap.

“What’s wrong?” he asked her as she took a slow sip of the beverage.

They had shed their winter coats once their bodies grew acclimated to the warm air inside the building. Most of the deputies and officers walking around were dressed up with turtlenecks under their uniforms, however, Mulder would guess that the ambient temperature was around seventy-three degrees.

She turned to look at him and set the can down carefully on the desk. “I want to interview Lisa before they peg her as the person responsible for all of this.”

Mulder nodded slowly in agreement. To save their own skin, Wesley, Andrew and Daniel could point the finger to Lisa as the driving force behind each of the murders and the attack on Mulder and Scully that afternoon.

Martinez and Bristol approached. They were both amped up from their meeting with the sheriff who had yet to pop out of his office. Mulder had seen him in passing but the man kept his door closed more than any other police chief he had met.

“We need to get in there before their lawyer convinces them to hang Lisa out to dry,” Martinez said as he pointed over his shoulder towards the interrogation room.

Bristol stood with his hands on his hips as he glanced down to Scully. “What do you guys want to do?”

“We want to talk to Lisa,” Mulder told them. “Do you need us in there to interview them?”

“No,” Martinez offered. “I think what we’re going to get from them is a pile of nothing.”

Bristol nodded in agreement. “One of us should stay here at least to put pressure on the lawyer to let us in there.”

“I think you’re the man for that job,” Mulder told him and Bristol gave him a questioning look. Mulder nodded to his shoulder then back up to the tall FBI agent. “You’ve got more presence than I do, wouldn’t you say?”

Bristol glanced over to Scully. “So much for inter-office cooperation.”

Scully stood up and narrowed her gaze on the Denver agents. “If their lawyer was going to let us in to speak with them in the next few minutes, I might agree that we should stay here but I think Lisa is the better avenue of investigation for Agent Mulder and I. We have more experience with these kinds of cases.”

Martinez touched Bristol’s arm lightly with the back of his fingers. “Let’s go put the gears to ‘em.”

Mulder watched as Bristol gave Scully another lingering look before they left them in the middle of the bullpen. There was an alarm going off in his head regarding Bristol’s intentions but insulting Scully about her reciprocating his feelings wouldn’t win him any points. Scully was anything if not loyal to Mulder and it would take more than another man’s longing glances to make him doubt her in any way.

“This is going to be a long day,” Scully sighed as she moved around the desk.

“Any word from the hospital?” Mulder asked as he took a sip from their shared drink.

She checked her phone and put it back on the blotter. “No. I can’t imagine she would need invasive surgery. The shot was a through and through. I don’t believe I hit any major arteries or functions in her glenoid.”

“What?” Mulder asked.

Scully stood up and reached out to run her hand along the top of Mulder’s uninjured shoulder. Mulder looked at her hand and the sparkling diamond that caught the reflection from the dull neon lights overhead.

“This at the back is your trapezius muscle. At the front of your clavicle is your deltoid and pectoralis major. The glenoid fossa is the socket part of the ball and socket joint in the shoulder,” she explained softly as she took a step closer. “If you damage any of the bones or the fibrocartilaginous structure inside, through an injury or gunshot wound, it takes an extensive surgery and eight to twelve weeks of repair.”

Mulder looked up at her and smirked. “So all the times I ended up in one of these-”

“You’re lucky the damage was minor,” she finished for him.

He felt a slight stirring in his jeans but was entirely aware that this was not the time. They seemed to miscalculate the time a few times since last night. It wouldn’t the first time that Scully’s scientific jargon had aroused him and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last. Again, his timing needed work.

“You’d be a really great teacher, Scully,” he complimented her and her cheeks pinked. “No, hear me out.”

Scully sat on the edge of the desk and crossed her arms under her breasts. “I’m all ears.”

“The way you just said trapezius muscle is more interesting than when my health teacher handed out condoms,” he replied earnestly and she laughed. “I’m serious.”

“I’ll bet you are,” she commented as she stood up from the desk.

Mulder’s eyes ran down from her face to her slight frame and she put her finger under his chin to tilt his head up. “I’m not ogling in an obvious way.”

“You are,” she countered and he grunted quietly to cover his discomfort. “I want to get out of here and talk to Lisa.”

Mulder checked his phone that was sitting on the desk. “I think we should just go down there. If they’re not going to call us, I’d rather wait to find out the truth from Lisa rather than some lies from these guys.”

Scully nodded in agreement. She grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair and Mulder put his hand on her lower back as she zipped it up.

“Should we let the hospital know we’re coming?” she asked.

“The sheriff’s deputy waiting there shouldn’t have a chance to tell anyone what we’re up to,” Mulder noted as they slipped quietly out of the office.

 

***** *** *****

 

Lisa Wylie laid in a hospital bed with a heart monitor beeping at each passing beat. Her right arm was cuffed to the rail with tubes leaving her left arm and pumping medicine into her veins.

“I thought you were here to arrest me,” Lisa told them with a wry smile. “I’m not trying to make light of what’s going on but the fact that this handcuff isn’t permanent is a bit of a relief.”

Aside from the bullet wound on her shoulder, Lisa was looking well and healthy. Just like after her supposed beating she took when they found her in the woods, her ability to bounce back was something to note.

Scully approached her tentatively and donned a latex glove she pulled from her jacket pocket. She made a gesture she wanted to examine Lisa and the young woman nodded. As she pulled back the bandage on Lisa’s shoulder, Scully arched an eyebrow and glanced over to Mulder. He knew that reaction well and walked towards the bed but kept a distance only because the smell of healing flesh actually made his stomach turn.

The skin was healing well but he didn’t know if what he was seeing was normal or not. Scully pressed the tape back into Lisa’s skin and discarded her gloves.

“You’re looking well, Lisa,” Scully replied, obviously on the same train of thought.

“Good medicine?” Lisa supplied.

Mulder tilted his head slightly as he scratched his bearded cheek. “I think it’s related to what’s happened to you.”

Lisa shrugged as if to say she didn’t know but Mulder wasn’t buying it.

“If you want to remain on good terms with the police and the FBI-” Scully began.

Lisa clanked the bracelet against the bed frame. “You were saying?”

“You’ll cooperate,” she finished and sighed. “Those cuffs are as much for us as they are for you.”

The petite blonde woman sighed and laid her head back against the starched hospital pillow. “I know.”

“If you want a fair trial on all of this, you’ll want to talk to us,” Mulder pointed out.

“I thought you were supposed to play good cop bad cop when these kinds of interrogations took place,” Lisa commented dryly.

She looked away from them and licked her chapped lips. She was small like Scully but her eyebrows seemed to be in a constant angered furrow as though to be sulking or frustrated with everything. Mulder wanted to know why it all started and what spurred the first attack. Speaking to a serial killer was usually interesting from a psychological standpoint but he also was curious how her transformation manifested.

Mulder took a few steps closer to her. “Can you tell us how this all started? Why a Raven Mocker? What was the connection to the victims?”

Lisa looked at Mulder with her cold eyes and shook her head. “I didn’t choose any of this. It started when I got locked up the first time and I finally found a way to control it.”

“Through a sacrifice?” Scully supplied skeptically.

Lisa groaned. “Not exactly.”

Mulder glanced over at Scully and took a step closer. “Then what? We want to help you from being pegged as the only culprit in these murders Lisa but you’re making it difficult.”

“We have evidence of a large footprint for a size twelve shoe at the scene. We found four hairs belonging to a Black-headed Spider Monkey. We’ve seen video footage of a large simian at the murder scene,” Scully told Lisa. “How is any of that connected to what you are?”

Lisa rubbed her face against her uninjured shoulder to itch her chin and took a steadying breath. “The large simian isn’t something I can explain. That’s not me. I can tell you that when the Raven Mocker takes over, I’m larger than myself and more powerful than anything I’ve ever felt. How it manifested is more interesting than how it behaves.”

Scully arched an eyebrow and Mulder dug into his jeans for a sunflower seed to hold between his teeth.

“We’re all ears,” he prompted her.

Lisa sighed and they took the hint to pull up a couple of chairs next to her bedside. Mulder could sit and listen to a person discuss how their paranormal abilities came to be but there was also an issue with the men behind the choosing of her victims.

“Please continue,” Scully requested.

“Somehow… it knows what it has to do and who it needs to hurt just with a whisper,” she described. Her voice was heavy but her eyes sparkled with anticipation and excitement. “This monster was so angry at those who broke their vows.”

“How did it know?” Scully asked.

“Daniel and Andrew…” Lisa started but she coughed and choked on her saliva in her throat.

Scully poured water into the plastic cup on the tray at Lisa’s bedside from the pitcher. Before Lisa could reach for the cup with her injured arm, Scully stepped closer to allow her to drink from the cup. There was a caretaker inside Dana Scully that couldn’t be tempered with questioning a suspect. She was a physician and a scientist first and an FBI agent second. She took the oath to heal the wounded and care for the sick, something that she didn’t take lightly.

Lisa took the cup from Scully without wincing and Scully turned to share a look with Mulder.

“You are healing quickly,” Scully noted.

After she took a slow drink and coughed, Lisa cleared her throat again. “Thank you for the water. I don’t know why I heal so fast. I think it’s something to do with the Raven Mocker.”

“How did this manifest?” Mulder asked.

Lisa shook her head. “I was in a hospital being treated like an animal and living in conditions you wouldn’t wish on anyone. One of the nurses in the hospital was nice to me.”

“And?” Scully prompted.

Lisa shrugged. “He prayed with me. He taught me about different parts of the Cherokee culture. He and Wes helped me get better.”

“Why were you institutionalized originally?” Scully asked.

“I had anxiety and mild symptoms of bipolar disorder that Wesley has helped me work through,” Lisa replied.

“Your fiancee was treating you as a patient?” Scully repeated.

“That’s highly unconventional,” Mulder muttered.

Crossing that professional line could cost Dr. Horton his licence and Mulder wasn’t sure how he managed to skirt around that.

“He saw me a few times in Porter Adventist,” Lisa clarified. “He wasn’t my regular doctor.”

That wasn’t much better but Mulder had to push past that and look at the case. He needed to know how any of what she experienced turned into this supernatural being.

There was a knock at the door and a deputy entered to hand Mulder a report he had been waiting on. Mulder opened the file to discover exactly what he had suspected. He wasn’t sure that any information would be forthcoming about Lisa’s past but there was a file on her. She was institutionalized for two years and the details around her release were not public or shared even with the FBI. If Mulder wanted more beyond what was redacted in the file in his hands, he would need a subpoena and he wasn’t sure they had time for that.

“Your file is sealed from the Porter Adventist Hospital and you were discharged around the same time as an incident at the same facility,” Mulder read off the page. “A doctor and a nurse were badly injured during what is only listed as an ‘attack.’ Do you want to talk about that?”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Lisa muttered as she shifted slightly in the bed. “I didn’t do anything to those doctors and nurses they didn’t do to me. They deserved what they got.”

“Which was?” Scully asked.

Lisa shrugged. “The file is sealed for a reason.”

A beat of uncomfortable silence hung in the air while they decided how to proceed. Lisa was less forthcoming than he had hoped but it wouldn’t help her to get her name cleared if she wasn’t going to talk to them.

“You were saying something about Daniel and Andrew?” Scully prompted her.

Mulder thought she might try to get back on a more clear path of investigation. It was easier for her to get from A to B and equal C versus the strange random tangent that his mind always leapt to.

“The wives I saw at the RockResorts always confessed the state of their marriage without a lot of prompting,” Lisa told her. “They told me everything. How unhappy their husbands made them. If they cheated. If they were thinking of cheating. None of these people were worthy to wear wedding rings or of their vows.”

“Taking a vow doesn’t mean you’re not fallible,” Scully pointed out. “Those who are a shining example are usually people we look to because they have learned hard lessons in the past.”

“You’re only saying that because you were caught with that other agent,” Lisa muttered.

“What are you talking about?” Mulder asked.

Lisa looked from Scully to Mulder and frowned further. “I saw him with her at the Bully Ranch, at the hospital and out on the street. He’s trying to make her cheat.”

“We’re not married,” Mulder replied flatly.

Scully licked her lower lip and took a wavering breath that was obviously to calm her down. She was loyal almost to a fault and he could count on that from her. Being thought of as otherwise would probably not sit well with her, just as much as Mulder wouldn’t welcome the insinuation that he was cheating on Scully.

“My relationship status is none of your business but if you were curious, Lisa, I’m not interested in being with someone else,” Scully told her. “Just because an outside party has the intent or the desire, that doesn’t equate to a broken vow.”

“And if we did, that wouldn’t be something for you to judge,” Mulder chimed in and Scully gave him a curious look.

Lisa lurched forward in the bed and her eyes were dark as she shrieked, “You can’t be married and do those things! I am always loyal and I have nothing! You shouldn’t get what I want and break what you swore to uphold!”

The sound was piercing in his ears and he pulled Scully a step back from the bed. If she was about to turn again, he wanted Scully to be out of her reach.

Lisa tugged on the cuffs again and grunted angrily. “You don’t deserve to wear those rings…”

“Is that why you killed those couples?” Mulder asked her. “Because they didn’t live up to your standards of what a marriage is supposed to be?”

Lisa shook her head. “Maybe it’s okay for you to wear a symbol and do the opposite of what is expected of you but some of us consider that to be a disgrace. It’s bad enough people come here and expect some mountain vacation to fix their infidelities and betrayals but it can’t.”

“You don’t believe in forgiveness?” Scully asked.

“No one holds the grace or compassion to truly excuse what they’ve done,” Lisa snapped at her. “Even God.”

Scully took a step back from her and turned to Mulder. She shook her head at him and walked out of the hospital room. Mulder knew that pulling the trigger on Pfaster was a weight she was going to carry until she absolved herself. As a Catholic, that wasn’t something that came naturally to her and he was well aware of that.

Mulder looked back at Lisa and clenched his jaw. He swallowed and took a long breath. “So you’re saying that by taking these lives, you somehow made the institution of marriage better?”

Lisa nodded. “I wish I could promise that it was over but I can’t stop the Raven Mocker. The infidelities are still out there.”

“So is the truth about aliens but you don’t see me killing every person who says grey aliens don’t exist,” Mulder replied dryly.

The woman in the hospital bed shook her head. “What?”

“It’s not your job to police relationships,” Mulder told her as he closed the file and tucked his notebook into his pocket. “And I’m afraid with your motive, you’ve sealed the case for yourself on a guilty verdict.”

The blonde woman shrugged. “Who cares? Any prison would be a vacation compared to what I’ve been through the last year.”

“You need a lawyer,” Mulder advised her. “Don’t hire the same guy your fiancee has.”

His hand touched the door and he turned over his shoulder to see Lisa breathing heavily in the bed. She focused her eyes on him and they turned black with bright red pupils. She snarled at him and pulled her arm on the handcuffs.

“I’ll die before I betray him!”

This must be how it began or manifested. Lisa was about to turn and he knew that those handcuffs wouldn’t stop her.

Mulder opened the door and called for a doctor. Two large orderlies entered and one cursed loudly at the sight of her.

“Jesus Christ, she’s going to turn again!” the orderly shouted.

“Hold her down!” the other one yelled.

Her eyes flashed red. Mulder kept his back against the wall while a doctor entered with a long needle at the ready. A clear liquid was waiting to be injected into the IV and Mulder feared it wouldn’t work fast enough.

As her screams filled the hallways of the hospital, the needle pushed into the IV hanging at her bedside. She snarled and screamed louder. She fought against the orderlies holding her down with all the strength a woman suffering from a recent gunshot wound could manage.

Just as Mulder thought she was about to break free from her constraints, Lisa’s body went limp and her breathing returned to normal.

“Jesus,” Scully breathed from behind her. “What the hell was that?”

“She almost turned again,” Mulder answered with excitement in his voice. “I… it was… a little scary.”

“If the scream that came down the hallway was any indication, I can only imagine what it must have been like up close,” she commented. “Is she sedated?”

The doctor approached them and discarded his gloves into the medical waste bin in Lisa’s room. “We’re keeping her on a strong sedative with a muscle relaxant in it until we can figure out how to better treat this. She’s terrifying when she lashes out.”

Mulder nodded in agreement. “I don’t think she was as innocent as we originally thought.”

“We need to talk to Bristol and Martinez,” Scully reminded Mulder quietly as she turned to look up at him.

He nodded and gave his card to the doctor. “Call us if _anything_ changes.”

The doctor glanced over his shoulder. “We’ll be keeping her sedated until we know what to do with her.”

Mulder had hoped she was innocent and used by the Horton brothers but it was clear that they conspired together with Lisa. He would have to get over his disappointment that she had more motive than he originally anticipated. Those who died at her hand deserved justice.

“I don’t imagine the FBI could recommend a clear-cut treatment for someone in her condition,” the doctor speculated and Scully shook her head. “That’s what I thought.”

“My recommendation would be to contact the nurse who helped her channel her rage into the Raven Mocker in the first place,” she suggested. “I don’t believe we have the capability to stop it.”

Mulder scoffed. “I think we have a small amount of capability.”

Scully arched her eyebrow as she glanced at his shoulder then up to his face. “Right.”

Mulder looked back at the attending physician and smiled tightly. “Thanks again.”

“We’ll be in touch,” Scully replied.

As they walked down the hallway to the parking lot, Mulder breathed through his nose heavily but decided not to comment on her remark earlier to the doctor.

“Something on your mind?” she asked him as they got in the SUV.

Mulder closed the passenger side door and shook his head. “Nothing I want to get into now.”

She turned the engine over but sat against the door of the vehicle. “I’m curious.”

There was a beat hanging in the air. People walked by them in the parking lot carrying flowers and balloons for friends and family inside. Mulder saw a blue bear shaped balloon being held by a small girl with her father leading her by the other hand. She was probably on her way to meet her new baby brother. Mulder wondered if Scully saw families and wished for that life instead of the one with him where they chased after glowing eyes in the dark forest and argued over indigenous folklore.

“Well…” he started.

“Here we go,” she muttered.

Mulder felt his jaw drop a little. He wasn’t going to say anything but the man had some pride. “I mean, I try to have your back when it comes to these investigations and I certainly wouldn’t want you to feel undermined by me in any way, shape or form but earlier when you-”

“Mulder-” she cut him off.

“No hear me out,” he continued. “I can handle myself. She caught me off guard earlier but I can wrestle with the best of them. I’m armed. I was ready to shoot if I had to. It just feels like if we’re dating and working together maybe you could have my back. I don’t know.”

Scully sighed. “Did you think for a second at all that maybe I didn’t want you to risk it? Because… you know I love you and all that? Because I want to protect the person who means the most to me? We don’t know a single thing about the Raven Mocker beyond what little information we were able to gather, let alone how to stop it. I think the person who helped manifest this in her should be here to help us. I think we should try to track down that nurse and hopefully he can lift whatever spell - yes I know I’m referring to folklore magic, calm down - that he put on her but in the meantime, I want to keep you safe. Did you consider that or were you just thinking of how I wounded your pride in front of Doctor Lesperance back there?”

Mulder pursed his lips because he didn’t think anything beyond his ego let alone the attending doctor’s name. “I didn’t think of any of those things, no.”

She turned in her seat and fastened her seatbelt across her lap. “Well, in the future, I would appreciate the benefit of the doubt.”

Mulder nodded slowly. “No problem.”

She began to back the vehicle out of the parking spot and as she shifted it into Drive, she caught the look in his eyes. “Now what?”

“Well…” he started reluctantly.

“Spit it out Mulder,” she clipped at him as she began driving.

Mulder shrugged. “You did leave me alone in there with a known monster… You couldn’t have been that worried-”

“I was actually on the phone with the head administrator at Porter Adventist about finding the name of the nurse who turned her,” Scully interjected. “I thought tracking down a lead might be advantageous and I still have yet to see her turn into the Raven Mocker so my assumption was that you would be found in there on your own.”

“Did… did you find the information?” he asked and wordlessly, Scully pulled her notebook out of her pocket. She handed it to him as she got onto the main highway back to the sheriff’s office and Mulder saw the name of the nurse circled on the page. “Huh. Look at that. Did you already call Bristol-”

“Yes,” she cut him off.

“Oh…” he sighed quietly and closed the notebook.

He wondered if he should apologize for jumping to conclusions or doubting her concern. He definitely should. If he wanted her to admit she was wrong, he could do the same… It wasn’t a big ask… So, why was he stalling? Before they started dating, he would just shrug his shoulders and try to prove her wrong later to level the playing field but this was different since he brought up all this other personal stuff too.

Mulder popped a seed in his mouth and held it between his teeth as he said awkwardly, “Sorry.”

She shook her head at him. “You’re an ass.”

“Yeah but I’m _your_ ass,” he teased back.

She grinned a little and he knew she couldn’t be too mad. He had some issues of his own to work through but now wasn’t the time. There was someone behind all of this they hadn’t put in handcuffs. A subject at the root of the evil in this case that needed to be apprehended.

“We need to get back to the station and wrap this up,” she told him. “If this case continues, I’d like to get our travel request in to Skinner before five.”

“I’ll call Martinez and let him know what we found,” Mulder offered as he pulled out his phone and Scully stepped on the gas to lessen their travel time.

 


	15. Wrap Up

Atohi Barrow was a person of interest in five other cases including Wyoming, Nebraska, Utah and New Mexico. While his nursing license had been valid when he worked at Porter Adventist, Bristol and Martinez had discovered that in the last four years, he had been banned from that medical facility and several others.

The line of victims in his wake was mapped out in front of Martinez as he took notes over the phone. When he hung up, he stretched his back and looked at Scully and Mulder excitedly. This was the real case work that most FBI agents signed up for. Most agents looked forward to a proper investigation where they needed to track down suspects and work with other offices to search the country to bring justice for crimes that were beyond the scope of small town police forces.

“I’ve been on the phone since you guys left,” Martinez said as he shifted in his chair. “We found out with a call to our Denver office that this guy has been running from the Feds for a while now.”

“We’ve tracked him down to Texas. The El Paso agent who I spoke with said he’s like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands,” Bristol commented. “He’s fled to a reservation and is living under protection of the band so it makes it more complicated.”

“Are there other cases like Lisa?” Mulder asked and tried to mask his hope this could be bigger than just these murders.

Bristol nodded. “I wouldn’t say that they’re all supernatural in origin but he’s somehow preyed on unsuspecting men and women who were mentally unstable and vulnerable.”

This would be a huge break for the X-Files if they could bring him in and somehow validate more of their work. Not only could this be helpful in proving everything they’d ever worked on, they would finally have tangible evidence of something related to the paranormal. It would shut up every executive director at the FBI who rallied behind Kersh to shut them down. Not only that, it could secure them more funding and fewer meetings that berated them for over spending.

“Do they want us to join the investigation?” Mulder asked.

Bristol shook his head. “They already have a task force working. We talked to your boss about bringing you in but he wants you back in D.C. by Monday.”

Today was Saturday. That meant they were to pack up, drive to Denver and fly back ASAP. Usually they had more than a few days to investigate something like a multiple murder case.

“What?” Scully questioned.

Mulder shook his head. “Why? This is our area of expertise. What reason could-”

He stopped himself because flipping out in front of Bristol and Martinez was the last thing he wanted. He had to question Skinner on it first.

“Who did you speak with?” Scully asked evenly.

Bristol looked at Martinez questioningly. “Kerp? Kurt?”

“Kersh?” Mulder supplied. Bristol snapped his finger and pointed at Mulder in response. “You gotta be joking.”

“Do you want me to call him?” Scully offered.

Mulder looked around. He knew how he would react to speaking with their boss’s boss. It wouldn’t go well on either of their ends. They were both too stubborn to capitulate to the other’s point of view but instead of it being a disagreement of opinions, this was with his superior. He would have to give in to what Kersh decided regardless if he wanted to keep his position on the X-Files.

Kersh mentioned at every quarterly review that just because the X-Files office was open and Mulder and Scully were assigned to it, it did not guarantee a future in that office for them or the search into the paranormal.

Scully had a better way of dealing with Kersh but that was mostly due to his overwhelming guilt over the gunshot wound she suffered under his assignment with a different partner.

Mulder shrugged. “What’s the point?”

She looked awkwardly at Bristol and Martinez and nodded. She offered, “We’ll send our reports?”

She said it like a question versus a statement and the Denver agents nodded.

“Please do,” Bristol spoke up.

Mulder narrowed his eyes at Bristol and caught Scully’s disapproving glance to him.

“If you need us, you know how to get in touch with us in D.C.,” she continued. “We’d like a copy of your final report as well for the X-Files.”

“That works for us,” Martinez replied.

It suddenly occurred to Mulder this case wasn’t quite wrapped up on their end but he assumed that Bristol and Martinez would be laying the charges against the Hortons and Lisa Wylie for their involvement in the murders. He hoped at the very least that the Bigfoot Adventure Tours would be shut down for exploiting the deaths of those couples.

“Where’s Greene?” Mulder asked them.

“The sheriff saw him making a ruckus when we were interviewing the Horton family over the Bigfoot idiots and sent him home,” Martinez described. “Made a big scene and almost punched a guy out.”

“Who?” Scully asked.

“The sheriff,” Martinez answered and they all shared a moment of silence over Greene’s probably ruined career with Eagle County. “He’s suspended for a week without pay.”

“What about the Horton brothers?” Scully asked.

Bristol twirled his pen between his fingers. “They’re all pointing the finger at Lisa, as we suspected, but the statement you got from her will help to ensure she’s not the only guilty party named in these murders.”

Mulder shook his head as he looked towards Bristol. The Denver agent was watching Scully with a longing that Mulder recognized but he chose not to comment and make territorial claims that would only embarrass Scully. He couldn’t focus on a man making puppy eyes at his partner when he had been torn off a case that actually confirmed a man with supernatural abilities was out there. He needed to launch a campaign with Skinner to make a plea to Kersh for their reinstatement on this case. This was what was important now. It was their job to ensure this all stopped at the source but all Kersh could see was that the immediate issue was solved. It was so short-sighted and idiotic.

“Mulder?” Scully interrupted his thoughts. She was in her jacket again, fiddling with her faux wedding band. “We should go.”

“Thanks for putting us up in such a nice place,” Mulder added as he rubbed his collarbone near the bandage on his shoulder. “We’ll be out of there as soon as I can confirm our flight back to D.C.”

The agents shook hands and Mulder followed Scully out of the police department to get in their vehicle. As they drove back to their condo in silence, Mulder thought about how close they had come to finally seeing the truth or a confirmation of what was evolving in nature while they were here but he was leaving with just as many questions as he had when they arrived.

The figure he saw in town that night wasn’t something he dreamt up. He saw it with his own two eyes. Other people witnessed the creature too.

When Scully had left him alone to question Lisa, she had requested blood and tissue samples to be sent to Washington and a full diagnostics team to come in to ensure nothing would be missed. If science could somehow explain what happened to Lisa, there would be just that much more validation for their work. Ten years ago Mulder would have scoffed at the idea that science could prove anything in his line of work and now he was counting on it to make his case.

Every time he felt like they were closing in on the truth, it slipped through his fingers. Mulder clenched his jaw and glanced down at his shoulder. He was putting it all on the line over and over again and for what? What was he getting in the end?

They were quiet as Scully drove them back to the condo. She offered to pack their belongings and Mulder agreed to book their tickets back to Washington.

As Mulder was waiting on hold with the airline, an email came in from Kersh to his laptop. He instructed in short and concise type that they were to stay the night in Denver at the airport hotel and catch the first flight out of Vail. The exact words Kersh used were ‘the cost to the taxpayers was coming to an end for this excursion.’

It really angered Mulder that he and Scully were being dragged out of Vail before he found closure. He didn’t know what to do about it.

Mulder confirmed their tickets with the airline for Sunday afternoon and began calling the FBI approved hotels that were within the budget. Even though he and Scully had just spent the week together posing as a couple and enjoying the liberties of shared accommodations, he couldn’t get away with only one room on his credit card receipt.

He realized as he listened to Scully moving around upstairs that she might want some space from him after all this togetherness. He walked upstairs with his phone tucked between his ear and his uninjured shoulder with his credit card in hand while the line rang.

The crime scene team had been in and out of there, focusing only on the front door and the incident upstairs. The cleanup team would be along shortly to take care of the blood in the hallway upstairs. All more charges to the federal government that Kersh would breathe heavily through his nose at when he called Mulder up to his office for a review of his report.

Scully was in the bedroom refolding every shirt that Mulder had put into a drawer before placing it into his suitcase. There was a small laundry bag on the floor at her feet but instead of a mess of material he would need to untangle later, the items inside had been folded as well.

“Your anal retentive tendencies know no bounds,” Mulder quipped as she stood in the bedroom organizing their luggage.

“Where’s that basketball you had?” she asked as she looked pointedly at his suitcase.

Mulder walked through the bedroom and pulled the orange leather ball from under his side of the bed. He placed it in the corner of his suitcase on top of his running shoes.

She raised an eyebrow. “Your dependency on sports, sunflower seeds and-”

“Sex?” he offered.

“Excuse me?” the front desk clerk answered.

“Oh sorry, not you,” he chuckled awkwardly. “I’m…uh sorry. I’m trying to book two hotel rooms for tonight.”

The clerk on the phone cleared her throat and Scully swatted her hand at him. “Of course sir. We would be happy to accommodate you at the Motel 6.”

Mulder gave a longing look around the home they had been put up in that week. “Great.”

“I have two rooms next to each other with queen beds available,” the clerk told him. “Do you have a credit card ready for our file?”

Mulder sat on the edge of the bed next to where Scully was folding but careful not to disturb her neat piles she had around her. “Sure do. The name on the reservation is under Fox Mulder-”

“Like the animal fox?” the clerk asked.

”Yes like the animal,” he clarified and gave his credit card. “We’re leaving Vail in the next hour.”

“See you soon, Fox,” the clerk said with a giggle and hung up.

Mulder put his phone on the bedside table and laid down with a groan.

“You could help,” Scully suggested.

Mulder opened one eye. “Do you want me to?”

She shook her head. “No this is actually a therapeutic part of travelling for me.”

“Do you want me to insist so I seem like a better guy?” he asked honestly.

“Sort of,” she admitted.

Mulder let out a long breath. “Scully, can I help?”

“No,” she protested lightly. “Just when I’m ready to take these downstairs.”

“Okay, keep me posted,” he avowed and she nudged his knee with her leg. “Don’t get flirty. We have to be out of here in an hour.”

Scully clucked her tongue. “I wouldn’t even try with you in the mood you’re in right now.”

Mulder sat up slowly and leaned against the headboard. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Scully folded the last item, put the laundry bags on top of the clean clothes and zipped up the bag with a self-satisfied smile. “There.”

Mulder looked at her expectantly and she furrowed her brow.

“You were saying I was grumpy,” he reminded her.

She moved around the bed and sat next to Mulder with her back against the pillow. He was trying to recall if they had sex in that bed while they were there but that probably wasn’t the point right now. His brain quickly calculated that if they were going to have sex before they left for Denver, Scully should already be one orgasm into it.

“Well,” she began. “I think you’re disappointed in what’s happened with this case for a lot of valid reasons. We found Lisa to be the Raven Mocker but we’re being pulled away from bringing her creator, Atohi Barrow, to justice. We don’t have any closure. He took advantage of a young woman in a facility and turned her anxiety and fear into a monster she was barely able to control. You have a big heart when it comes to the underdog.”

“That’s you,” Mulder replied. “I’m just here for the aliens and conspiracies.”

“You also are probably wondering what could be so important that Kersh is pulling us out of an active investigation to come back to D.C.,” she continued. “You’re an amazing profiler and you do great work within the FBI but you don’t make a very good soldier when it comes to having orders barked at you.”

“We know this,” Mulder confirmed with a nod.

She moved closer towards him and put her hand on his. “I’m sorry we weren’t able to see the Sasquatch you thought we were coming here to find.”

“Well…” he started to counter her and she raised an eyebrow. “Hear me out.”

Scully waved her hand for him to proceed.

“Technically, we did see something unexplained walking through the streets the night you were attacked,” he pointed out as he interlaced his fingers with hers.

The moment he realized something had happened to her, his mind forgot about what he saw outside the restaurant and zeroed in on ensuring her safety. His emotions went from elation to fear in a matter of moments.

“You and other eyewitnesses saw it, Mulder,” Scully confirmed. “But it was’t confirmation that the Sasquatch was the killer nor did it bring us closer to solving the case. It was a sighting that would otherwise be fantastic but held no proof since we have zero evidence of that sighting now.”

Mulder nodded again. “Not being able to prove what I saw… yeah, that was kind of the most disappointing part, I have to admit.”

“I still haven’t heard back on how those hairs from the Black-headed Spider Monkey were found on the last victims,” she replied. “I really hope Lisa and Dr. Horton are the kind of people who keep monkeys as pets.”

Mulder made a disgusted face. “Me too.”

There was a beat where they looked at one another and her mouth turned up in a small smile. Mulder leaned in and kissed her softly. Her mouth was so familiar to him as much as it felt new. Her lips were cool against his and her breath was sweet. He wondered if there would ever be a time that a small kiss didn’t make him ache for her. Maybe he could convince her to bunk over that night in Denver if she wasn’t sick of him.

As his tongue pushed into her mouth, Scully let out a whimper that went straight to his cock. This wasn’t really the time to get messy on the bed with the cleanup crew on their way and a flight waiting for them in Denver in the morning.

Maybe it was the side of Mulder that was working to feel like he deserved someone like Scully in his life but he didn’t want their lovemaking to be rushed or less than mind blowing for her. Ensuring that she had a good time was his first priority every time.

“Mulder,” she whispered as she moved towards him on the bed.

“Mmm?” he hummed.

“We have… twenty minutes,” she started.

Mulder looked into her eyes and saw the desire there. She was grinning at him through freshly kissed lips and an arched eyebrow that said a lot. It was a green light.

“Does that bedroom door have a lock on it?” Mulder asked.

Scully maneuvered herself onto Mulder’s lap and he gave her a full blown smile as she settled herself on the hardened flesh pressing against his jeans. Her mouth took his quickly and her tongue slipped past his lips. The green light was now a highway with no road blocks, construction lanes or detours. This was a go.

He felt his member get harder and the urgency for which he wanted to be inside her only became more powerful. If only he could flip her on her back and tear the jeans off her slender thighs, he could get to work with his mouth on her sex.

A knock at the front door echoed up the hall and Scully let out an exaggerated sigh. She climbed off his lap and wiped a thumb across her lips.

“These guys have some kind of timing,” he muttered as he got off the bed.

“Mulder,” Scully called to him and waved her finger at his groin. “You might want to… adjust there.”

He looked down at his pants and smirked at her. “Right.”

Mulder slipped a hand inside his pants and gave himself a slight realignment. Scully gave him a thumbs up and he turned to head down the stairs to answer the door.

Of course, it was the crime scene cleanup crew there to take care of the mess from the altercation in the hallway. The longer they stayed in this place, the sooner Mulder wanted to get home. He wanted to get Scully into a bed or in a tub, anywhere she could wrap her slender legs around his waist and cry his name out without a care for who heard them.

He cleared his throat and followed the men up the stairs. “We just need to get our things out of here and we’ll be on our way. The Denver agents we were working with will be along for an inspection.”

“Sounds good,” one of the crew said.

Mulder handed them the keys to the condo as Scully came down the stairs with her luggage. She was managing all right but he still felt he should be doing the heavy lifting, even with his mildly injured shoulder.

“You okay there?” he asked as more members of the team entered the condo.

Scully smiled a little as she set her bag down. “Yeah, I just have to get yours.”

He waved a hand at her. “Don’t be silly. I’m down to one arm but I can still lift things.”

She gave him a skeptical look but stepped aside so he could follow the first set of the crew up the stairs. When he came back down, Scully was waiting by the door with the car keys in hand and his laptop bag in the other.

“Ready?” she asked as he set his suitcase down to put on his jacket.

Mulder reached for the keys but she pulled them close to her body between her breasts. “You think that’s going to stop me?”

Scully gave him a warning look and opened the door. “You can drive me home tomorrow when we get back to D.C.”

He took that as a sign she wasn’t completely sick of being around him yet. Mulder gave her an appreciative leer as he picked up his suitcase.

“Get in the car, Mulder,” she muttered and he chuckled as he followed her outside.

Mulder put his bag in the back of the SUV with the rest of their luggage and he took one last look around the street. He climbed into the passenger side and moved the seat back wordlessly as Scully adjusted the mirrors.

“You know it’s just a flesh wound,” Mulder reminded her as she backed out the SUV onto Gore Creek Drive. She turned on her indicator light to go right. “I’m perfectly capable of driving.”

Scully glanced at him and sat up a little straighter in the driver’s seat. “I think you should save your strength.”

He couldn’t help but grin. “Okay then G-Woman. Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”

Scully grinned at him and ignored her phone buzzing in her purse at Mulder’s feet. “You’re such a child of the 70s.”

“You want me to get that?” he offered and she glanced at the phone with a slight nod. “Expecting anyone important?”

Mulder pulled her cell phone out of her purse and the caller ID said James Bristol, FBI. He appreciated how organized Scully could be about everything but for some reason it annoyed him that the man was stored in her phone.

“It’s Bristol,” Mulder said as he held up her phone.

Scully gave him a curious look as she took a left onto South Frontage Road. “Aren’t you going to answer it?”

He gave her an unassuming look and pressed the green ‘talk’ button. “Dana Scully’s phone. This is Mulder.”

“Agent Mulder,” Bristol replied with an obvious surprise in his voice. “I was hoping to catch you two before you left town.”

“Agent Scully is just driving us out of Vail and we’ve left the keys for the condo with the cleanup crew,” Mulder told him. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Oh yeah, that’s fine,” Bristol assured him and there was a loud commotion behind him that screeched through the speaker of Scully’s phone.

Mulder pulled the device away from him and winced. “Jesus, what was that?”

“A monkey,” he said with a laugh.

“Who’s monkey?” Mulder asked as he pressed the speakerphone button and Scully gave him a questioning look. The phone crackled as Bristol said a name but it was indecipherable. “Who?”

“Kyle and Gerald, the Bigfoot tour group owners,” Bristol repeated. “Their real names, by the way, are Dean and Jeremy Litchfield. They’re cousins who started up the business after the Horton family lost the horseback riding business.”

“What does a monkey have to do with it?” Scully asked.

A howl followed by a long bark echoed through the phone and Mulder and Scully shared a confused look across the cab of the vehicle. She turned her focus back on the road while Mulder cleared his throat and looked down to the object in his hand.

“The monkey and three or four of his brothers and sisters were being kept at their property at the north end of town. They used hair that had shed from them and other synthetic furs to create a suit-”

“Don’t say it,” Mulder cut him off.

“It appears they would get one of their employees to dress up in the suit as a way to rally traffic for their business,” Bristol finished.

“Don’t tell me they’re claiming they’re behind the sighting the other night,” Mulder groaned loudly.

“Well…” Bristol started. “They haven’t denied it either.”

“What was the point of the fake suit and then Lisa killing couples on the trip?” Scully asked. “How are these even related?”

“We can’t even begin to guess right now why they would continue to do this while the clients they had managed to attract were dying,” Bristol began.

Mulder had a theory brewing but he wasn’t sure if it would sell to Bristol. Scully must have caught his expression because she pulled the SUV onto the shoulder of the highway and looked at him expectantly. Mulder shook his head and she gave him a pointed look. He shook his head again and Scully sighed.

“I think Agent Mulder has a theory,” she spoke up.

“I’m all ears,” Bristol retorted and the sarcasm was minimal but it was still there.

Mulder gave Scully a look and she wordlessly ordered him to speak up with another pointed look. He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat.

“Well,” he started. “I think the Bigfoot Tour guys and the Hortons were playing a game of chicken with the lives of these victims. If the Hortons could get the Litchfield cousins to fold their business, they would have some retribution for their parent’s business basically being taken over and rebranded as something so tacky to play on the hopes of tourists wanting to see something a little fantastic.”

Bristol paused for longer than a beat but his breath came through on the line. “You mean they would have gotten away with all this if it weren’t for us meddling kids?”

“Minus the dog, but yeah,” Mulder confirmed with a slight laugh.

“You think they were aware of each other?” Bristol asked.

“I do and I’ll tell you why-” Mulder began.

“I would have to agree with Agent Mulder’s theory,” Scully cut him off. “Kyle and Gerald received threats - one such note that Mulder and I saw ourselves. By the way they reacted to the note, we discovered that they knew there was a plot against them and continued to keep their business open regardless of the intimidations by the Hortons.”

“I would bet a fair wager that the evidence of these notes being written is somewhere in the residences of your current detainees,” Mulder replied. “That still doesn’t discount what I saw walking through the city centre.”

Bristol scoffed. “You know, Rick said you might push for that angle but isn’t one freaky deaky thing enough for you?”

Scully arched her eyebrow at the phone and put the vehicle in park. Cell service outside the city until Denver was spotty at best and if the phone line cut out at any point, it might leave Bristol thinking they hung up on him. Not that Mulder would mind.

She cleared her throat and he could see her trying to work out how to explain it. “I think what Agent Mulder and I witnessed in the woods last night was proof enough there is something wandering the White River National Forest that is more than a man but not quite a beast that science has yet to identify-”

Bristol groaned. “You two really are a pair. Look, the monkey suit proves that any Bigfoot sightings were less Sasquatch and more hoax. The Litchfield cousins are being brought up on charges of fraud. The Hortons are being charged as accomplices to these murders. What else do you want?”

Mulder shook his head and Scully and handed her the phone before he opened his car door. He stormed out of the vehicle to leave her to speak to Bristol alone. He was pouting because Bristol had coaxed him into working with him and Martinez on this case but when push came to shove, he doubted what he and Scully saw.

Mulder kicked at the snow and dirt on the side of the highway and he looked around the forest at the edge of town. There was little out there besides the creek, a campground in the distance and the dark pine needles decorating the looming trees just a few feet away. The thick forest could hide a manner of sins as well as a large beast that was like Scully said, something that science had yet to qualify.

“Well, we’ll be sending our report and Bristol will be thanking Skinner for loaning us out,” Scully said as she joined him on the edge of the highway. “But I doubt that any fruit baskets will be heading our way any time soon.”

Mulder looked down at her as she scanned her eyes along the treeline. “Thanks for backing me up there.”

She looked up at him and narrowed her eyes at him. “Of course.”

“I do appreciate your input and your opinion on all of this,” he reminded her and she nodded slowly. “I mean… maybe I was being a little territorial about all of this because of Bristol-”

“What about him?” she cut him off and Mulder felt his cheeks grow hot. “You’re not _honestly_ -”

“I am honestly jealous, yeah,” he confirmed. “Is that a problem?”

Scully held his gaze for a beat and then turned to him as she calculated her next sentence.

“Just spit it out,” he encouraged her.

“It’s a little insulting to me at this point in our relationship that you feel like you have anything to worry about,” she stated solemnly. “I would have hoped that I wouldn’t give you any pause or cause for concern where my loyalties lie with you-”

“I trust _you_ ,” Mulder assured her. “It’s every other man out there-”

“Mulder that’s _extremely_ sexist and _insulting_ to all women that we’re just victims to fall subject to the charms of these smart, manipulative men and we have no free choice or will when it comes to who we go to bed with,” she cut him off. “And furthermore-”

Scully stopped her rant mid-sentence and he flinched as he waited for her to drop the hammer on them entirely. She said nothing but her eyes grew wide.

“What?” he prompted her.

“Mul-” she started and pointed a shaking finger out to the treeline.

Mulder watched her expression change from anger to disbelief. He followed the path of her finger and his jaw dropped at what he saw in the distance.

If he was less of a believer, he would say this wasn’t possible but Mulder had wanted to know and see the truth for so long, he worried this was another trick.

Scully’s throat squeaked as she whispered, “It’s-”

“ _Bigfoot_ ,” he finished for her with a breath of awe.

It must have been at least seven feet tall as it walked along the edge of the treeline. The figure walked with a slow purpose as it maneuvered through the snow. It was beautiful as much as it was shocking to see it with his own two eyes.

Mulder rubbed his eyes with his fists and patted his pocket for his small camera. It wasn’t in his jacket, Scully must have packed it in his laptop bag for when they got to the airport. The SLR they brought from D.C. was also in his laptop bag but that was five feet behind him.

“Do… you _see_ this?” he asked her.

Scully stood wordlessly next to him as the creature moved through the trees. It was too graceful to be a bear and too tall to be a man. This wasn’t someone in a monkey suit. He was witnessing proof of a myth and the confirmation that life as they knew it was not just what science had classified in textbooks. Somewhere on the evolutionary chain, Bigfoot would lay below man and above an ape. This was all too fantastical and he needed to get his camera to get something on film that he could bring into Skinner.

Mulder took a step back to the SUV but Scully grabbed his arm, stopping him.

“ _Don’t_ ,” she whispered. “Don’t look away.”

“Why?” he asked with a shake of his head. “You should know better than anyone that I _need_ _proof!”_

“Mulder if you miss this, you’ll never forgive yourself,” she pointed out quietly. “Just observe what you’re seeing in the distance and take it in.”

She had a point. Maybe the fact that she was witnessing this moment with him was proof enough. Nothing he brought forward to his superiors at the FBI would be taken with any credibility anyway.

A snap of branches in the distance and the growl of a mountain lion echoed across the snow up to them. The creature turned to look at them and stopped to pause before it took off into the woods. As quickly as it appeared, the Sasquatch was gone and Mulder was left feeling dumbfounded.

He was ready to hear Scully say it wasn’t real. She might interject that their minds were playing a trick on them. They had a long week with little sleep and they've been searching for the very thing that was in front of them - she could very well insist it was a fake. He was ready to hear her argue. 

“Oh my god,” she whispered. "It's..."

Mulder smiled at her. “I know.”

She took a steadying breath and looked back out in the distance. “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes-”

“I _know_ ,” he repeated.

They shared a look of understanding and appreciation. They were each other’s eyewitnesses and the proof they needed would lie with each other, as it always had.

Scully nodded slowly as the moment of their sighting settled between them.

She saw it too. That was almost as good as photographic evidence if it meant in the future, she would doubt what was possible a little less and have more faith in the improbable.

Mulder felt his mouth grow wide into a smile and he shook his head in disbelief. “Okay….”

“ _Okay_?” Scully repeated.

“Let’s go home,” he suggested and she nodded slowly. “Okay?”

“Gladly,” she replied. Scully held her hand out to encourage Mulder to get back into the car. “I’ve had enough of the great outdoors.”

He watched his fingers interlace with hers and looked up to her eyes as they shared another pointed look of love, understanding and slight glee. Regardless of everything else that they witnessed, endured and persevered through on this case, they had shared that poignant moment on the side of the road together. Nothing could change that.

 


End file.
